Congressman calls for feds to investigate, sanction Russian owner of Menlo Park development site
Originally published in The Almanac
by Arden Margulis and Hannah Bensen
U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo is calling for a federal investigation into the Russian national who reportedly owns 80 Willow Road, a Menlo Park site slated for a massive high-rise development, citing national security concerns.
“I want more housing in our community, but Russian oligarchs with ties to the Kremlin and criminal networks should not control assets in our country,” Liccardo told this news organization Thursday morning, Sept. 24.
Sanctions could block the controversial redevelopment project, which state officials are pressuring Menlo Park to approve.
In a Sept. 23 letter to U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Liccardo (D-California) urged an “immediate review” of the funding source of 80 Willow Road, where a controversial residential and commercial real estate development has a pending application that bypasses local building rules by using the builder’s remedy loophole. The letter also calls for the property’s owner to be considered for U.S. sanctions.
Russian businessman Vitaly Yusufov is reportedly the sole owner of the property, the former home of Sunset magazine’s campus. Yusufov’s business dealings have been linked to organized crime figures and Russian government officials including Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and prime minister. Russian investigative outlets have reported that the purchase of 80 Willow Road was made “in the interests of the Medvedev family.” Yusufov is the son of Igor Yusufov, Russia’s former energy minister whose net worth was valued at $1.1 billion in 2022 by Forbes.
“We need a federal investigation in order to support the implementation of sanctions that would stop Mr. Yusufov from being able to build in our community,” Liccardo told this news organization.
Neither Vitaly nor Igor Yusufov are sanctioned in the United States, but both are sanctioned by Ukraine; the elder Yusufov was also sanctioned by Canada in 2025. Sanctioned individuals cannot own property in the United States. Liccardo’s letter urges review of the development’s financing from the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. 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 wrote in his letter.
Liccardo’s call for sanctions comes amid pressure from the state government for Menlo Park officials to approve the development. California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused the city of violating state law by delaying the development. The tallest three buildings of the proposed development, called Willow Park, would range from 301 to 458 feet, surpassing any building between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Multiple publications, including The Almanac, have reported on the Yusufov family’s deep financial and business ties to Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and is a hardline hawk of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Some analysts have described the Yusufov family as financial proxies or “wallets” for Medvedev, who has been sanctioned by the United States since 2022.
Menlo Park Mayor Betsy Nash, who attended a Sept. 10 protest outside of 80 Willow Road, commended Liccardo’s letter.
“I am very glad that Rep. Liccardo has called on Secretary Bessent to sanction the Russian oligarch who owns the Sunset Magazine campus and prevent it from being turned into a massive commercial development that will compound housing and infrastructure challenges in Menlo Park,” Nash said in a statement. “We need affordable housing. We do not need a massive commercial development that will only make things worse.”
After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the economic sanctions that followed, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury, warned that some wealthy Russian elites and oligarchs attempted to evade sanctions by using proxies to move or conceal wealth. FinCEN said that the commercial real estate market is uniquely susceptible to sanction evasion due to the potential for “opaque ownership structures that diminish transparency” and the “relative stability” of the market which allows for a steady return on the investment.
“Ownership (of 80 Willow Road) raises separate concerns about whether U.S. real estate could facilitate sanctions evasion or conceal illicit funds,” Liccardo’s letter says.
The U.S. Treasury and the project’s developer, Oisín Heneghan of San Francisco-based N17, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Liccardo’s letter.
The president’s ability to sanction Russian oligarchs and supporters of the Ukraine war was recently expanded under the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” which directed the treasury secretary and president to sanction anyone supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine and any Russian oligarch who has not demonstrated opposition to the war or who benefits from association with Russia.
Liccardo and other house Democrats said they voted against the bill because it allows the president to waive sanctions and expands presidential authority to issue tariffs.