New US sanctions against oligarchs

The circles that Russian oligarchs can still draw are becoming ever narrower. The US government of President Joe Biden is imposing further sanctions on people close to President Vladimir Putin.

Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the US government has imposed further sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs. People from Putin’s inner circle are also affected. US President Joe Biden said the oligarchs would “line their pockets with the Russian people’s money” while the people of Ukraine had to “hide from Russian missiles” in subway stations Individuals and their family members would be locked out of the US financial system, their assets in the US would be frozen and their assets blocked. The US State Department also announced that it has imposed visa bans on 19 Russian oligarchs and dozens of their family members and close associates. “The goal was to maximize the impact on Putin and Russia and minimize the damage to us and our allies and friends around the world,” Biden said.

Yachts are brought to safety

The United States had already imposed sanctions on Putin, his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and several oligarchs last week. Now this list has been expanded. The US followed the EU, which put Putin spokesman Peskov and a number of oligarchs on its sanctions list on Monday. Their assets in the EU are being frozen and entry bans have been imposed on them.

“The United States and governments around the world will work to identify and freeze assets of Russian elites and their family members in their territories, their yachts, luxury homes, money and other illicit gains,” the White House said. Currently, oligarchs are trying to bring their luxury yachts to countries where they are not threatened with confiscation.

Great Britain is also joining in

Those affected now include multi-billionaire Alisher Usmanov and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Also included are the head of the pipeline giant Transneft, Nikolai Tokarew, the head of the state-owned armaments company Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, the brothers Boris and Arkady Rotenberg, the former deputy prime minister and current head of the state foreign trade bank VEB, Igor Shuvalov, and Putin -Confidant and businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is said to be the financier of the Wagner mercenary group.

Known as “Putin’s cook,” Prigozhin is among those indicted by the US government in 2018 for involvement in a wide-ranging attempt to sway American political opinion during the 2016 presidential election. The government in Washington has not yet announced who the US entry bans were imposed on.

Britain, meanwhile, imposed punitive measures on oligarchs Usmanov and Shuvalov, who own luxury properties and apartments in the country, among other things. The sanctions include a travel ban and a freeze on their assets in the UK, the UK Foreign Office said. The government in London has put 13 oligarchs on its sanctions list since the Russian attack on Ukraine a week ago.