The United States government on Friday imposed sanctions against 24 Russians close to the country’s President Vladimir Putin. Of these, 17 are Russian government officials and seven are “oligarchs” who own or control 12 firms. Sanctions were also slapped on a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a bank.
These entities have been punished for their “malign activity around the world”, the US Treasury Department said. “The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “The Russian government...continues to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplies the Assad regime with weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempts to subvert Western democracies, and conducts malicious cyber activities.”
The US had in March imposed sanctions on 19 Russian officials and five groups for Moscow’s alleged interference in the 2016 American presidential elections. The administration of President Donald Trump also accused Russia of a continuing operation to hack the US energy grid and other critical infrastructure, and spying on the United States.
Mnunchin claimed that Russian oligarchs and elites profited from this “corrupt system” and could no longer be protected despite their government’s activities.
The Trump administration’s action means US citizens can no longer engage in dealings with the proscribed individuals or entities. Non-US citizens can also face sanctions if they “knowingly facilitate significant transactions for or on behalf of the blocked individuals or entities,” the Treasury Department said.
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