On December 19th, the US Treasury released a list of sanctions on 18 more Russian individuals.
“Treasury is sanctioning Russian intelligence operatives involved in cyber operations to interfere with the 2016 election and a wide range of other malign activities. We are taking action against operatives working on behalf of a sanctioned oligarch, hacking the World Anti-Doping Agency and other international organizations, and engaging in other subversive actions,” said Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury. “The United States will continue to work with international allies and partners to take collective action to deter and defend against sustained malign activity by Russia, its proxies, and intelligence agencies.”
All property and interests in property of these persons in the US are blocked, and US nationals are generally prohibited from engaging in business with them.
Most notably, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are designated to be sanctioned, in relation to the alleged Novichok Nerve Agent Attack on March 4th, 2018.
“Petrov and Boshirov were designated pursuant to CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) Section 224 for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the GRU.”
Other than that, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Aleksei Morenets and Evgenii Serebriakov – “officers in the GRU who played an integral role in compromising WADA’s database in 2016, as well as assisting the GRU’s attempted cyber intrusions into the OPCW.”
Also connected to the alleged World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) targeting are Oleg Sotnikov– “a Russian military intelligence officer who provided support to the GRU during its targeting of the OPCW,” and Alexey Minin– “a Russian military intelligence officer who supported the targeting of the OPCW, and also worked with Sotnikov to assemble hacking equipment during the operation.
Nine more alleged Russian GRU officers were also designated for the alleged GRU attempt at Election Interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election.
They are as follows:
- Viktor Borisovich Netyksho;
- Boris Alekseyevich Antonov;
- Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov;
- Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev;
- Nikolay Yuryevich Kozachek;
- Artem Andreyevich Malyshev;
- Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk;
- Aleksey Aleksandrovich Potemkin;
- Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev;
All of the listed alleged GRU officers were designated “pursuant to CAATSA Section 224 for knowingly engaging in significant activities undermining cybersecurity against any person, including a democratic institution or government, on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation, and for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the GRU. As of March 2016, Osadchuk was the commanding officer of Unit 74455 of the GRU.”
Two people were sanctioned in relation to the alleged “Project Lakhta, a broad Russian effort that includes the IRA, designated previously under E.O. 13694, as amended, which has sought to interfere in political and electoral systems worldwide.”
They are as follows: Alexander Aleksandrovich Malkevich, who operates the USA Really website, who allegedly “engaged in efforts to post content focused on divisive political issues but is generally ridden with inaccuracies.” While the other individual is Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, who as of 2018 allegedly served as the Chief Accountant in Project Lakhta’s finance department.
Finally, Victor Alekseyevich Boyarkin, “a former GRU officer who reports directly to Deripaska and has led business negotiations on Deripaska’s behalf,” was sanctioned in relation to Oleg Deripaska’s designation.
Despite adding Boyarkin to the sanctioned list, the US Treasury announced the lifting of sanctions from the businesses of Oleg Deripaska, and namely from aluminum giant Rusal and its parent En+ and JSC EuroSibEnergo within 30 days. However, Deripaska himself will also remain under sanctions.
“Treasury sanctioned these companies because of their ownership and control by sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, not for the conduct of the companies themselves. These companies have committed to significantly diminish Deripaska’s ownership and sever his control. The companies will be subject to ongoing compliance and will face severe consequences if they fail to comply,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “OFAC maintains the ability under the terms of the agreement to have unprecedented levels of transparency into operations.”
The decision was made because En+, Rusal, and ESE agreed to a framework to undertake significant restructuring and corporate governance changes to address the circumstances that led to their sanctioning. In short, they will reportedly reduce Deripaska’s direct and indirect shareholding stakes; overhaul the composition of En+ and Rusal’s board of directors; take other restrictive steps relative to corporate governance; and undertake extensive, ongoing audits, certification and reporting requirements by the US Treasury.
