On August 23, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against more than a hundred individuals and legal entities in 16 different jurisdictions involved in Russia's evasion of Western sanctions.
Points of attention
- Over 100 individuals and entities in 16 different jurisdictions have been sanctioned by the US for aiding Russia in circumventing Western sanctions related to its aggression in Ukraine.
- The sanctions target transnational networks that have helped Russia purchase arms and hide investments by Russian oligarchs, impacting Italian, Chinese, and other companies involved in sanctions evasion and trade with Russia.
- The US Treasury Department uncovered networks in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and other countries that facilitated Russian oligarchs in concealing investments and procuring goods for Moscow. Companies like Fagima and individuals like Giulio Sfoglietti are among those facing US sanctions.
- In a separate move, the US expanded secondary sanctions against Russia, broadening the definition of Russia's military-industrial base to encompass all sanctioned individuals, including imposing restrictions on Russian banks and their foreign offices.
- This recent sanctions package by the US encompasses more than 400 individuals and entities, highlighting Washington's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and efforts to deter entities from aiding Russia in evading sanctions.
The US will punish those who helped Russia evade sanctions
The new US restrictions concern more than a dozen transnational networks, which, in particular, participate in the purchase of weapons and equipment for Russia, facilitate the evasion of sanctions and support the Russian military-industrial base.
One such network facilitated Russia's purchase of ammunition from Turkey and was coordinated by Italian citizen Giulio Sfoglietti. The other imported components for the sanctioned Russian company Promtech through companies in Turkey, France and Hong Kong.
In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the US Treasury Department discovered networks that allowed Russian oligarchs to hide their investments in foreign companies through trust funds, as well as buy semiconductors for Moscow.
The Italian machine manufacturer Fagima, which cooperated with the Russian procurement agent Dmitriy Alikhanov, already included in the American blacklist, also came under US sanctions.
The list mentions companies in the United Arab Emirates that helped Russia trade in Russian gold, and a number of Chinese companies involved in importing sanctioned goods to Russia.
Separately, the U.S. exposed a network of companies Russia created to facilitate its hackers that fell under U.S. sanctions back in 2018.
This sanctions package covers 16 jurisdictions and more than 100 individuals and entities. In general, more than 400 individuals and legal entities are on the new US sanctions list.
The US expanded secondary sanctions against Russia
On June 12, the American authorities struck a new powerful sanction blow against Russia and its allies outside the aggressor country. This was another response of Washington to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The US Treasury announced its official decision.
The agency announced the strengthening of a mechanism aimed at imposing secondary sanctions — that is, restrictions on individuals who cooperate with already sanctioned individuals — in relation to Russia.
In the position of the American ministry, the definition of "military-industrial base of Russia" was expanded, which now includes all sanctioned persons.
Later it became known that the sanctions apply to five Russian banks:
"Promsvyazbank",
"Vnesheconombank",
Sberbank of Russia,
"VTB Bank" and
"VTB Capital Holding", as well as their foreign representative offices.
In addition, the States introduced restrictions on the access of the Russian military-industrial base to IT consulting and project services, as well as IT support and cloud services.
