Wealthy oligarchs are the latest target of US sanctions announced by the Biden Administration on Thursday, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The US Treasury identified 10 Russian elites with close ties to Putin who "leverage their proximity to the Russian President to pillage the Russian state, enrich themselves ... at the expense of the Russian people," per the press release.
Source: US Treasury
Bloomberg reported that the US, Canada, and several European nations will freeze the listed oligarchs' Western assets — including their yachts, private jets, and luxury homes.
Source: Bloomberg
Meet Russia's wealthy elite being hit by the sanctions.
1. Sergei Borisovich Ivanov: Russia's Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology, and Transport.
The former KGB agent was Putin's Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2016 and "one of Putin's closest allies," per the US Treasury department.
2. His son, Sergei S. Ivanov: CEO of Alrosa, a state-backed diamond mining company.
Alrosa is partially owned by Russia and accounts for 28% of the world's diamond mining capacity. Its sales last year totaled $4.2 billion, according to Statista.
Source: Statista
The company was one of 11 Russian entities subjected to new debt and equity sanctions on Thursday. Alrosa has a market cap of $6.2 billion, according to Forbes, and a US branch headquartered in New York City.
Source: US Treasury, Forbes
3. Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev: Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, and "longtime close associate of Putin," per the US Treasury.
The Russian Federal Security Service is known as the "successor" to the Soviet Union's KGB.
Source: BBC
4. Nikolai Patrushev's son, Andrey Patrushev: appointed in 2019 as the CEO of Gazprom Neft, Russia's third-largest oil producer.
Source: Gazprom Neft
The oil company was also listed among the 11 Russian entities subjected to Thursday's economic sanctions.
5. Igor Ivanovich Sechin: CEO of Rosneft, one of the world's largest oil companies. The oil baron has been called the second most powerful man in Russia, after Putin.
6. His son, Ivan Igorevich Sechin: reportedly a deputy department head at Rosneft.
Source: US Treasury
7. Alexander Aleksandrovich Vedyakhin: First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank, the largest financial institution in Russia.
Sberbank holds around a third of Russia's bank assets. Thursday's sanctions require US financial institutions to reject any payments that Sberbank attempts to make in US dollars.
8. Andrey Sergeyevich Puchkov: a high-ranking executive at VTB Bank, Russia's second-largest financial institution. Puchkov also has stakes in two Moscow-based real estate companies.
9. Yuri Solovyev: first deputy president-chairman of the Board at VTB Bank, which was hit with full-blocking sanctions to "sever a critical artery of Russia's financial system."
Source: US Treasury
10. Galina Olegovna Ulyutina: Soloviev's ex-wife was involved in a "golden passport scheme," where Russia's elite "pay" for citizenship by investing in a country. Golden passports in the US, Canada, and Europe are now being limited under sanctions against Russia.
Source: Insider
Via PakApNews