On Wednesday, the State Department and the Treasury announced on the introduction of a new component of sanctions in the context of the war in Ukraine and against natural and legal persons who help Russia circumvent the sanctions already imposed.
The new sanctions lists include 120 legal and natural persons in 20 countries.
Secretary Blinken’s statement pointed out that the actions taken by the United States, in coordination with the United Kingdom, target the sanctions-busting network of one of Russia’s wealthiest oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov, who is already making subject to US sanctions.
On Wednesday, sanctions were imposed on USM Holding, the main entity through which Usmanov controls most of his companies.
Among the companies included in the USM holding and subject to sanctions is the Russian mobile operator Megafon, the largest Russian iron ore producer Metalloinvest, including Metalloinvest subsidiaries in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, the operator of the Udokan copper project in Russia and the Uzbek cement producer Akhangarancement .
“The inclusion (on the sanctions list) of MegaFon, one of Russia’s largest telecommunications operators, marks a change, as Western sanctions have so far not affected Russian telecommunications infrastructure” , says the State Department document.
In addition, a number of people, Cypriot citizens and Cypriot companies, are on the sanctions lists, helping to circumvent the sanctions already imposed on Usmanov.
In particular, Usmanov’s financial adviser, Demetrios Serghides, who ran The Sister Trust, founded by Usmanov and his sister Gulbahor Burkhanovna Ismailova, fell under the sanctions.
As part of the sanctions against Usmanov’s companies, State Duma deputy Andrey Skoch, who had a financial stake in USM holding company, and his father Vladimir Skoch and daughter Varvara Skoch, who has Cypriot citizenship, were included in the sanctions list.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that the sanctions list includes two Russian organizations that support Russian efforts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity through the militarization and indoctrination of school children. : the All-Russian military-patriotic youth movement Yunarmiya and the state budgetary educational institution occupying authorities of the Crimean “Patriotic Center”.
Sanctions have been imposed on a number of individuals associated with the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, because “Russia uses the export of energy resources, including in the nuclear field, to exert political and economic pressure on its consumers around the world.
Foreign companies assisting Russia in the war against Ukraine include Chinese, Turkish and OAU companies.
In a separate sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Ministry of Finance (OFAC) – 25 natural persons and 29 legal persons in 20 countries.
Read the latest news about the Ukraine conflict on The Eastern Herald .
