United States Takes Further Actions to Counter Sanctions Evasion by Russia

The United States together with over 30 other states around the world has imposed “unprecedented sanctions and export controls to hold President Putin to account for his war against Ukraine, restrict Russia’s access to critical technology it needs to fund its war machine, and turn Russia into a global financial pariah”, the White House informs.

The U.S. says that the Russian economy is staggering under the weight of financial and trade sanctions, export controls, and the exodus of approximately 1,000 U.S. and multinational businesses.

“Analysts are projecting a double-digit decline in Russian GDP in 2022, soaring inflation estimated near 20% in 2022, and Putin’s war is projected to wipe out the last 15 years of economic gains in Russia. 

The United States and our allies and partners are committed to supporting Ukraine and ensuring the Russian government feels the compounding effects of our economic actions,” reads a press release by the White House.

The United States announced that it had taken further action “to crack down on evasion and tighten our sanctions to enhance enforcement and increase pressure on Putin and his enablers”:

• The Department of the Treasury is targeting prominent Russian government officials and business leaders, luxury property of elites, and luxury asset management and service companies key to Russian attempts to evade sanctions. This includes close Putin associate and money-manager of Putin’s offshore wealth, Sergei Roldugin and his family members; Putin-linked yachts and Kremlin aligned yacht brokerages including Imperial Yachts and its CEO which provide services for Vladimir Putin’s inner circle; government ministers overseeing key sectors integral to the Russian economy; and the President of United Aircraft Corporation, a state-owned company that plays a leading role in supporting the defense industry and supplying the military’s destructive activity in Ukraine.

• The Department of State is targeting additional Russian oligarchs and elites close to Putin. This includes God Nisanov, a close associate of Russian officials.; Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry; and Alexey Mordashov, one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires, in addition to his family members and companies, including one of Russia’s leading domestic steel producers.
• The Department of Commerce is further restricting the Russian military’s ability to obtain technologies and other items it needs to sustain its aggression and project power. This includes adding 71 parties located in Russia and Belarus to the Entity List, effectively cutting them off from obtaining U.S.-origin items or foreign-made products derived from certain U.S. technology or software.

Today’s actions across the U.S. government continue to add to expansive economic measures imposed on Russia to hold it accountable for its unprovoked war in Ukraine. So far, the United States has added 1,000 parties to Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List and over 300 parties have been added to Commerce’s Entity List.