Read Liccardo’s letter HERE.
BY NORAH SHEPPARD-HUTCHINS
Daily Post Staff Writer
Congressman Sam Liccardo, who represents Menlo Park and much of the Mid-Peninsula, asked the U.S. Department of Treasury yesterday to look into potential sanctions against 80 Willow Road property owner Vitaly Yusufov and his father.
A sanctions designation could stop development of Yusufov’s 39-story tower at the former Sunset Magazine headquarters in Menlo Park.
“Public sources raise serious questions about Vitaly Yusufov’s ties to the Russian government and individuals linked to organized crime, warranting immediate review by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), and, ultimately, consideration for sanctions,” Liccardo said in his letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Vitaly Yusufov bought the seven-acre property in 2019 through his LLC, Willow Project. He plans to develop the site into 665 apartments, a hotel, office space and a preschool across three towers, with the tallest going up to 461 feet.
Yusufov faces sanctions in Ukraine, while his father, former Russian Energy Minister under Russian President Vladimir Putin, Igor Yusufov, also faces sanctions in Ukraine and in Canada.
Vitaly Yusufov was a business agent for former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Liccardo said in his letter. Yusufov purchased the Wadan shipyards shipbuilding company in 2009 for 40.5 million euros after Medvedev and former German Chancellor Angel Merkel brokered a deal, according to the New York Times.
The acquisition was financed by Gennady Petrov, leader of the Tambov-Malyshevskaya organized crime syndicate, and Aslan Gageic, or “Dzhako the Bloody,” another organized crime figure who is connected to 56 contract killings, Liccardo said.
National security raised
Liccardo argues in his letter that because the property is in Silicon Valley, with many major tech companies in the vicinity, Yusufov and other possible owners should be looked into due to national security concerns.
“Given the very high concentration of defense tech, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing companies and research centers in the region, we believe federal agencies should review the property, its ownership, and its financial backing to ensure Kremlin officials and their proxies cannot obtain sensitive information about critical U.S. companies and their employees,” Liccardo said in his letter.
In May 2018, Yusufov requested buying the 80 Willow Road property from Deutsche Bank for $72 million. Some bank officials were worried about the appearance of doing business with Yusufov and his ties to Putin, according to the New York Times.
A New York-based Deutsche Bank executive committee tried to halt the transaction, citing the potential reputational damage it could do to the bank, according to the New York Times. The decision was overruled by a committee in Europe. After the decision on the sale was overruled, an employee of the bank filed a suspicious activity report to the U.S. Treasury, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sebastian Kraemer-Bach, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, told the New York Times that the bank did due diligence on the sale and didn’t find evidence that it would violate money-laundering laws or sanctions.
Liccardo also cites in his letter that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network warned in a Jan. 25, 2023, alert that, “sanctioned Russian elites and their proxies are likely attempting to evade sanctions by exploiting vulnerabilities in the U.S. commercial real estate market.”
“Given the reported ties to U.S. adversaries and organized crime figures, as well as the development’s proximity to companies and infrastructure critical to our national security, we urge OFAC to immediately review Vitaly and Igor Yusufov for potential sanctions designation and urge appropriate federal agencies to review the ownership, financing, and development of 80 Willow Road,” Liccardo said.
Liccardo’s spokeswoman Izzy Connolly told the Post that the office is exploring other avenues on the matter to strengthen their case.
This letter comes a week after Liccardo voted against a Russian sanctioning bill.
Liccardo was one of 152 Democrats in the House to vote no on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on Sept. 16. The act includes imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, top officials in his administration, family members and oligarchs.
Liccardo said he opposed the bill sanctions because President Donald Trump is most likely to use the bill to impose tariffs.
“I have consistently supported Ukraine as a member of Congress — including urging long-overdue military support against Russia — so I found it deeply frustrating to have to vote against the Russia sanctions bill,” Liccardo said in a statement yesterday.
The act also imposes property-based sanctions against Russian financial institutions, foreign vessels that transport certain products from Russia, such as coal and authorizes 100% tariffs on importers of Russian oil and natural gas.
Trump has demonstrated no willingness to impose any sanctions and the bill gives him more authority to “expand his chaotic scheme of tariffs, which have made daily life unaffordable for millions of Americans, launched trade wars with our closest allies, and disrupted supply chains for our leading employers,” Liccardo said. in the statement.
Liccardo tied together two different issues — sanctions and tariffs. He voted against sanctions because of the threat of tariffs. Now he is responding to constituents’ complaints about 80 Willow by trying to get one individual, Yusufev, sanctioned. He should be sanctioned, no question, but does Liccardo have any points with the Trump administration? We’ll see. It’s a sure thing Bonta doesn’t.
I’m happy to read that Liccardo is going to push for sanctions. But the letter is just the first step. He’s got to do some arm twisting in DC to get this done.