By Adam Morrow
April 13, 2023 Updated:
April 13, 2023
The Department of the Treasury in Washington on Aug. 30, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)
The United States has
enacted a wide-ranging package of fresh economic sanctions against more than
120 Russia-linked companies and individuals—several of them in third countries.
“The United States will
continue to take action against Russia and those supporting its war in
Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on April 12.
Blinken says the move
reflects the Group of 7’s “commitment to impose severe consequences on
third-country actors” who support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its
second year.
The Group of 7 (G-7) is
an intergovernmental political forum comprised of the United States, Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and founder of USM Holdings Alisher Usmanov (L) look on at the control center at Lebedinsky Mining and Processing Combine in the Belgorod Region, Russia, on July 14, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
All G-7 members are
staunch supporters of Kyiv, and all but Japan are members of the Western NATO
alliance.
Russia launched its
invasion early last year with the stated aim of protecting Russian speakers in
Ukraine and halting the eastward expansion of NATO. Kyiv and its allies
regard the move as an unjustified war of conquest.
Anatoly Antonov, Moscow’s
ambassador to the United States, said the fresh round of sanctions is an act of
desperation.
“Washington’s convulsive
attempts to ‘punish’ Russia merely confirm the inability of the U.S.
authorities to make our country abandon our vital national interests,” he said
on April 13.
Russian Telecoms Targeted
The latest sanctions on
Russia-linked entities were enacted by the U.S. Treasury and State departments
in conjunction with the UK government.
A primary focus of the sanctions
is Russian Uzbek businessman Alisher Usmanov, who, according to the Treasury
Department, commands “a wide network of businesses … through which to conduct
financial transactions, enabling him to potentially circumvent sanctions.”
The sanctions also target
USM Holdings, which is owned by Usmanov, along with several subsidiary
companies. They include an Uzbekistan-based cement company and a Russian
iron producer with subsidiaries in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.
The sanctions also target
the USM-owned MegaFon, a Russian telecommunications company.
The move represents the
first time that U.S. authorities have imposed sanctions on Russia’s
telecommunications infrastructure.
“We are a commercial
company providing millions of clients with services of high social
significance,” MegaFon said in an April 13 statement cited by Russia’s TASS
news agency.
“We will dispute these
restrictions by all means available to us.”
The fresh raft of
sanctions also affects a private Russian military company that Washington says
is associated with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
In January, Washington
expanded sanctions on the Wagner Group, another Kremlin-linked military company
that has spearheaded the recent fighting in Ukraine.
The latest sanctions also
target five entities affiliated with Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm
Rosatom. Washington accuses the company of using energy exports to exert
political and economic pressure on foreign customers.
Antonov, for his part,
described the sanctions on Rosatom as “an attempt to once again circumvent …
the rules of fair competition on foreign marketplaces.”
3rd Countries Not Immune
The latest raft of
U.S.-led sanctions also takes aim at several companies operating outside
Russia’s borders. They include the Budapest-based International Investment
Bank, the majority of which is Russian-owned, and three current or former
company executives.
According to the Treasury
Department, the bank’s presence in Hungary allows Russia “to increase its
intelligence presence in Europe … and could serve as a mechanism for corruption
and illicit finance, including sanctions violations.”
Sanctions were also
imposed on Sequoia Treuhand Trust Reg, a Liechtenstein-based trust services
firm that caters to high-worth Russian clients, according to the Treasury
Department.
Two China-based technology
firms were also included in the latest sanctions: HEAD Aerospace Technology and
King-Pai Technology HK.
According to Washington,
the former supplies the Russian military with satellite imagery of locations in
Ukraine, while the latter provides technological components to Russia’s
military-industrial complex.
Recent weeks have seen
deepening ties between Russia and China.
Last month, Chinese
leader Xi Jinping made a three-day visit to Moscow, where he signed a number of
cooperation agreements with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The new sanctions package
also targets four Turkey-based companies, which Washington accuses of violating
U.S. export controls and aiding the Russian war effort. Washington claims
that at least two of the firms helped transfer “dual-use” goods—goods that have
military applications—to Russia.
The move is the most
significant U.S. sanctions-enforcement action in Turkey, a longstanding NATO
member since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began early last year.
While Ankara has
condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, it has also sought to maintain good
relations with Russia, with which it shares extensive trade ties.
Antonov says the latest
round of Western sanctions is intended to “complicate the interactions of third
countries with Russian counterparties.”
He went on to assert that
the move would only serve to “further damage the United States’ business
reputation in the eyes of the world.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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