On December 5, the US Treasury introduced sanctions against Belarusian individuals and legal entities for coordinating the abduction of children from Ukraine to Belarus and supporting the authoritarian regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The US sanctions against Belarus
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions against 11 entities and seven individuals.
The statement of the US Treasury stated that this action increases the pressure on the regime of Oleksandr Lukashenka for the brutal suppression of democratic civil society in Belarus, the corrupt financial enrichment of the Lukashenka family and complicity in Russia's unjustified war against Ukraine.
Today's action confirms our efforts to hold Lukashenka, his family and his regime accountable for their anti-democratic actions and human rights violations both in Belarus and around the world. We will continue to pursue the Lukashenka regime's sources of income, its so-called personal "purses" and people who facilitate Russia's aggressive war in Ukraine, coordinate the movement of children from Ukraine to Belarus, and support the Lukashenko authoritarian regime, the US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and financial intelligence Brian E. Nelson said.
Against whom sanctions were imposed
The sanctioned list included:
Dmitriy Shevtsov is the general secretary of the Red Cross of Belarus. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus has been complicit and supported the abduction of Ukrainian children to Belarus.
Aleksandr Shakutsyn is a member of Lukashenka's closest circle and one of Belarus's leading businessmen. Shakutsyn is one of Lukashenka's closest supporters and one of his "wallets", providing funds to Lukashenka and his regime.
OJSC "Minsk Mechanical Plant named after S.I. Vavilov" of the "BelOMO" holding and its director Moroz Oleksandr. The state-owned enterprise works in Belarus's defence sector, producing and selling optical sights for small arms.
OJSC "Zenith BelOMO" — belongs to the state enterprise "BelOMO", which operates in the defense sector of Belarus.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Haychuk is the general director of Zenit.
JSC "Alevkurp" is a state-owned military production company in Belarus specializing in creating new radar systems.
OJSC "Horizon Holding Management Company" and its related enterprises operate in the Belarusian household and industrial electronics, plastics and transport sector.
