US announces sanctions on non-Russians aiding Kremlin’s war on Ukraine
Mike Brest
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The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on a list of people and organizations around the globe that the department alleges have been involved in supporting Russia’s military as it wages its war in Ukraine.
Fourteen people and twice as many entities were included in Monday’s sanction announcement from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which described the group as “a global network of financial facilitators, enablers, and others associated with two key Kremlin-linked elites whose fortunes are intertwined with the West.”
Those sanctioned include French real estate companies, a group of Swiss nationals, and Taiwanese microelectronic component purchasers.
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“Businesses worldwide are advised to do their due diligence in order to avoid being targeted for sanctions,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. He said the United States “will continue to crack down on Russia’s attempts to evade international sanctions to fund its war machine.”
Monday’s sanctions also targeted the immediate family of Suleiman Kerimov, who had already been sanctioned by the U.S. in late September by the State Department, and Swiss national Alexander-Walter Studhalter, who has been a key part of Kerimov’s financial network. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also designated Russian businessman Murat Aliev, a former executive at a Kerimov investment firm, who also has links to Studhalter.
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, and Deputy Director of National Intelligence Morgan Muir met with leaders from relevant agencies of 33 other countries in mid-October to discuss the effects of the international sanctions that had been imposed and export control on Russia’s military-industrial complex.
“The United States will continue to expose and disrupt the Kremlin’s military supply chains and deny Russia the equipment and technology it needs to wage its illegal war against Ukraine,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. “Today’s actions demonstrate Treasury’s steadfast commitment to targeting people around the world aiding Putin’s war effort and the crony elites who bankroll his regime. Together with our broad coalition of partners, we will continue to use our sanctions and export controls to weaken Russia’s military on the battlefield and cut into the revenue Putin is using to fund his brutal invasion.”
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The U.S. and Western allies have repeatedly issued sanctions to various Russian officials who have participated or contributed to the war in Ukraine, in one attempt to make Russia pay for the war. The U.S., in particular, has publicly detailed Russia’s attempts to acquire weapons from allies that also oppose the West. Russia has acquired hundreds of Iranian drones, and personnel associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps traveled to Crimea to train Russian forces on them, while North Korea has sought to provide Russia with additional artillery shells.
Most recently, Biden administration officials said they remained concerned about the possibility Iran could provide Russia with missiles, while both countries have denied the U.S.’s allegation that they’re providing weapons to Russia.