BY DAVE PRICE
Daily Post Editor
Congressman Sam Liccardo deserves high praise for his decisive action to protecting both our local community and our national security. By formally asking Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to investigate and sanction Russian businessman Vitaly Yusufov and his billionaire father, Igor Yusufov, Liccardo has stepped up exactly when his constituents needed him most.
Vitaly Yusufov wants to build a 39-story skyscraper on the former Sunset magazine campus at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park.
Vitaly Yusufov is using money he inherited from his father — a former Russian energy minister with deep ties to sanctioned state enterprises like Gazprom and Rosneft. At a time when the United States is fundamentally opposed to Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, it is intolerable that Kremlin-linked oil money can be freely laundered and stored in American commercial real estate.
Furthermore, as Liccardo rightly argued, planting an opaque, oligarch-backed project in the epicenter of America’s defense tech, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing sectors poses an unacceptable national security risk.
Liccardo’s targeted appeal to Bessent demonstrates a pragmatic and urgent focus on the immediate threat to his district. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) should now follow Liccardo’s lead.
Liccardo’s letter is a good start toward sanctioning the Yusufovs. But if you have any clout in Washington (perhaps you’re a donor to President Trump), contact Bessent and let him know how important this is to our area.
By placing the Yusufovs on the U.S. sanctions list, the federal government can ground this skyscraper while sending a clear message: Silicon Valley is not a safe haven for Russia’s wartime elite.
• Sept. 24: Liccardo calls for sanctions on Sunset property owner
• Sept. 18: Sanctions would stop the 39-story Sunset tower
• Aug. 3: Developer threatens city over Sunset project
• April 25, 2025: In a win for developers, council isn’t supporting bill to rein-in Builder’s Remedy
• Opinion: Palo Alto should sponsor bill to combat huge Builder’s Remedy developments
• Aug. 12, 2024: Few applicants for city council seats, one of them has no opinion on Sunset Towers
Two cheers for Liccardo. He was shamed into doing this. Will he succeed?
Congressman Licardo is a good man.
He helped me with an issue I was dealing with at the VA.