WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration imposed sweeping new economic sanctions Wednesday on Russia that include targeting Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters in response to atrocities in Ukraine that the White House has called war crimes.
Maria Putina and Katerina Tikhonova, two daughters of Putin and his ex-wife, Lyudmila Shkrebneva Putina, face sanctions that will cut them off from the US financial system and freeze any assets they may hold in the US
The new round of sanctions, that also bans US investment in Russia and hits Russia’s largest bank and financial institution, follows disturbing reports and images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town of Bucha near the capital of Kyiv. The moves continue Biden’s strategy of steadily ramping up sanctions as Russia’s war in Ukraine escalates.
The US believes many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members. The sanctions target Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and his wife and daughter, although Putin himself has not been individually sanctioned. The latest penalties on Russian elites add to the 140 other oligarchs and Kremlin officials already hit with sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine.
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The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on Russia’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, and Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa Bank. A senior administration official called the moves “the most severe financial sanctions” the US can take on these entities.
The actions will freeze any of Sberbank’s and Alfa Bank’s assets touching the US financial system and prohibit anyone from the US doing business with either. Sberbank holds nearly one-third of the overall Russian banking sector’s assets and Alfa Bank is Russia’s fourth largest financial institution overall.
Biden is expected to sign an executive order that will prohibit new investment in Russia by US citizens – regardless where they are living – in a bid to further isolate Russia from the global economy. More than 600 multinational companies have already removed business operations or investment out of Russia.
The Biden administration will also prohibit Russia from making debt payments with funds subject to US jurisdiction, a move White House press secretary Jen Psaki said presents Putin with a difficult “choice” between draining Russia’s limited funds or default.
The sanctions were made in coordination with the Group of Seven nations and European Union allies, which are expected to take similar sanctions. The United Kingdom announced a full asset freeze against Sberbank and Credit Bank of Moscow, a ban on Russia investment and targeted investments on eight Russian oligarchs and Putin associates.
US indicts Russian oligarch for sanction violations
The Justice Department took separate actions Wednesday aimed at a top Russian oligarch, unsealing an indictment against Konstantinos Malofeyev for alleged sanction violations. The Treasury Department previously identified Malofeyev as one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea, and for providing material support for the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
“After being sanctioned by the United States, Malofeyev attempted to evade the sanctions by using co-conspirators to surreptitiously acquire and run media outlets across Europe,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a Justice briefing.
Garland announced the seizure of millions of dollars from an account at a US financial institution, which the indictment alleges constitutes proceeds traceable to Malofeyev’s sanctions violations.
US authorities also disrupted a global botnet controlled by the Russian military intelligence agency — commonly known as the GRU — aimed at infecting Ukrainian networks, according to the Justice Department.
FBI Director Chris Wray said the cyber disruption disabled Russia’s intended actions against “thousands of devices” before they could be launched. Wray said the action “strikes a blow against Russian intelligence.”
In addition to the enforcement actions, Garland acknowledged for the first time that the Justice Department was assisting in the effort to examine possible war crimes in Ukraine. The attorney general said US authorities had recently met with counterparts in Europe to develop a plan to gather evidence.
Garland said the Justice Department has “a long history” of helping hold accountable those who perpetuated war crimes and singled out the atrocities in Ukraine.
“We have seen the dead bodies of civilians, some with bound hands, scattered in the streets. We have seen the mass graves. We have seen the bombed hospital, theater, and residential apartment buildings.
“The world sees what is happening in Ukraine. The Justice Department sees what is happening in Ukraine,” he said.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism