Axios PM

April 04, 2022
Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 497 words, a 2-minute read.
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1 big thing: Yacht seizure spree

The U.S. government seized a 254-foot, $120 million yacht in Spain, saying it's owned by an oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin.
Why it matters: This is the first big boat seized by the Biden administration under sanctions targeting Russian oligarchs after Russia invaded Ukraine, AP reports.
- The Justice Department alleges the yacht should be forfeited for violating U.S. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes.
- Website Superyachtfan.com valued the vessel at $120 million. The Justice Department said it's worth $90 million.
On the scene: Spain’s Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the yacht, called Tango, at a marina in Spain’s Balearic Islands.

Between the lines: Prosecutors allege Ukrainian-born Viktor Vekselberg bought the Tango in 2011 and used shell companies to try to obfuscate his ownership and to avoid financial oversight.
- Vekselberg was first sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 and again in March of this year.
What's next: Agents confiscated documents and computers inside the yacht that will be analyzed to confirm the real identity of the owner.
The big picture: Superyachts are being seized across the Mediterranean, AP reports, targeting a variety of Putin allies.
2. Sobering stat

A new McKinsey study found that the loss of learning due to the pandemic could translate to annual GDP losses of $1.6 trillion worldwide by 2040, reports Axios' Noah Garfinkel.
- Latin America and the Caribbean could lose 2.2% of annual GDP by 2040, the report estimates.
- South Asia could lose 1.6%.
The big picture: South Asia and Latin America had schools closed for far longer, with fewer resources for distance education.
- "[S]tudents globally are eight months behind where they would have been absent the pandemic," the report says.
3. Catch up quick


- "Breakout year": 41% of crypto owners bought in for the first time last year, Brady Dale reports for today's debut issue of Axios Crypto, citing a Gemini report.
- 📺 MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today launched a fourth hour — a rare marathon footprint, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., for co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. Guests today included Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda ... Sen. Dick Durbin ... and the prosecutor general of Ukraine, Iryna Venediktova.
- President Biden said Russian President Putin should face a war crimes trial over the reported atrocities in Bucha. Go deeper.
4. 👮🏼‍♀️ Self-policing scooters

New scooters from Superpedestrian include tech that will forcibly slow you to a stop if you misbehave, Jennifer A. Kingson reports for Axios What's Next.
- Speeding, swerving or riding illegally on a sidewalk will get your ride put on ice.
The bottom line: Tech that snuffs out dangerous moves by riders could broaden e-scooter acceptance, making cities safer.
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