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3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine March 11, 2022 Additional Guidance Issued to Prevent Sanctions Evasion and Implement New Executive Order WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasuryʼs O ice of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new round of sanctions targeting Russian and Kremlin elites, oligarchs, and Russiaʼs political and national security leaders who have supported Russian President Vladimir Putinʼs brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine. Todayʼs actions include designating regime elites and business executives who are associates and facilitators of the Russian regime, including three immediate family members of President Putinʼs spokesperson, Dmitriy Sergeevich Peskov; Russian tycoon and Kremlin insider Viktor Vekselberg; and the Management Board of the sanctioned VTB Bank. Additionally, OFAC designated 12 members of the Russian State Duma, including Vyacheslav Victorovich Volodin, who is also a permanent member of Russiaʼs Security Council. OFAC is also issuing guidance, in line with todayʼs G7 leaders statement, to guard against potential attempts to use virtual currency to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia. All of these actions complement a new Executive Order issued today by President Biden that imposes new import and export restrictions on Russia, including the export of U.S. banknotes to Russia. Finally, OFAC is also issuing guidance and authorizations to implement the Presidentʼs new Executive Order. “Treasury continues to hold Russian o icials to account for enabling Putinʼs unjustified and unprovoked war,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. “Todayʼs actions also further isolates the severely damaged Russian economy by prohibiting trade in products that are key to the economic and financial interests of all Russian elites.” TARGET ING PUT IN ENAB LERS AND ELIT ES Family of Dmitriy Peskov, Kremlin Spokesman https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 1/8 3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… On March 3, 2022, the U.S. State Department designated Dmitriy Sergeevich Peskov (Peskov), identified as the lead propagandist and spokesperson of the Russian Federation. Peskov was designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14024 for being or having been an o icial of the Government of the Russian Federation (GoR). Australia, Canada, and the European Union (EU) have also sanctioned Peskov. Today, OFAC is designating three of Peskovʼs family members, all of whom live luxurious lifestyles that are incongruous with Peskovʼs civil servant salary and are likely built on the illgotten wealth of Peskovʼs connections to Putin. Peskovʼs wife, Tatiana Aleksandrovna Navka (Navka), has a property empire worth more than $10 million. Her real estate includes property in an elite Moscow suburb where Putin also lives, another multimillion-dollar apartment in Moscow given to her by the GoR, and an apartment in Ukraineʼs Crimean peninsula, which Russia has occupied since 2014. She first gained notoriety when she won a gold medal in ice dancing representing Russia at the 2006 Winter Olympics and later hosted an ice dancing show on Russiaʼs state-owned pro-Kremlin Channel One. Treasury also designated Peskovʼs two adult children, Nikolay Peskov (Nikolay) and Elizaveta Dmitriyevna Peskova (Liza). Nikolay grew up in the United Kingdom but moved back to Russia to serve in the army, and later worked for the Russian propaganda outlet RT. Nikolay reportedly has access to a number of luxury vehicles and travels on private aircra and yachts. Liza has tens of thousands of followers on social media, where she displays her luxurious lifestyle. She previously interned for a member of the European Parliament who publicly supported Russiaʼs attempted annexation of Ukraineʼs Crimea region. Navka, Nikolay, and Liza are all being designated today pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being a spouse or adult child of Peskov, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14024. A Network Close to the Kremlin Viktor Feliksovich Vekselberg (Vekselberg) is a prominent Russian businessman with an estimated net worth exceeding $6 billion who was previously designated on April 6, 2018 pursuant to E.O. 13662 for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Vekselbergʼs extensive holdings, predominantly consolidated through his designated Renova Group of companies, span multiple sectors of the Russian Federation economy, and are https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 2/8 3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… intertwined with some of the GoRʼs global initiatives, such as the Rusnano Group, one of the largest technological investors in Russia which provides a revenue source to the GoR. Vekselberg has maintained close ties with leading GoR o icials, including Putin and former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev (Medvedev). Medvedev personally appointed Vekselberg to serve as director and president of the Skolkovo Foundation (SF), a GoR initiative aimed at creating a Russian version of Silicon Valley in order to elevate Russiaʼs international status as a leading innovation center for technological developments. Following his prior designation, Vekselberg no longer holds this position with SF. Furthermore, Vekselberg has taken part in Russian diplomatic and so power activities on behalf of the Kremlin, accompanying GoR o icials on cultural missions abroad. As part of todayʼs action, OFAC is identifying as blocked property two of Vekselbergʼs luxury assets: an aircra with tail number P4-MIS and a yacht titled Tango. P4-MIS is an Airbus A319115 with serial number 3133 registered in Aruba. Vekselbergʼs yacht, Tango, is flagged in the Cook Islands, a self-governing island country in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand, with IMO number 1010703, and gross registered tonnage of 2,083. Both P4-MIS and Tango are valued at approximately $90 million each for a total of $180 million in identified blocked property. Vekselbergʼs P4-MIS jet, valued at approximately $90 million.1 Vekselberg is being redesignated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the GoR, and also for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 3/8 3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… VTB Bankʼs Management Board On February 24, 2022, Treasury designated VTB Bank, Russiaʼs second largest bank, pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the GoR, and for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy. Today, OFAC is designating the ten individuals comprising VTB Bankʼs management board. Olga Konstantinovna Dergunova Vadim Valerievich Kulik Valerii Vasilyevich Lukyanenko Anatolii Yuryevich Pechatnikov Natalia Germanovna Dirks Maxim Dmitrievich Kondratenko Erkin Rakhmatovich Norov Svyatoslav Evgenievich Ostrovsky Dmitrii Vasilyevich Pyanov Yuriy Nikolaevich Andresov All ten individuals were designated pursuant to E.O 14024 for being or having been leaders, o icials, senior executive o icers, or members of the board of directors of the GoR and for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy. Vyacheslav Volodin and Members of the Russian State Duma Today, in alignment with measures taken by international partners, OFAC designated twelve members of the Duma. The Duma is one of two chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly, Russiaʼs legislature. Following months of Russiaʼs buildup of military forces on the Ukrainian border, in February 2022, the Duma voted in favor of sending a resolution to Putin to recognize the independence of two separatist-held territories in eastern Ukraine, the socalled Donetsk Peopleʼs Republic (DNR) and Luhansk Peopleʼs Republic (LNR), which was a blatant violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 4/8 3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… Specifically, 11 members of the Duma signed a letter to the Dumaʼs speaker and member of the pro-Kremlin ruling United Russia Party, Vyacheslav Victorovich Volodin (Volodin), lobbying for Putinʼs recognition of these two separatist republics. Volodin is a permanent member of the Russian Security Council and was previously designated on April 28, 2014, pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an o icial of the GoR. Volodin signed the resolution and Putin ultimately announced his decision to recognize the independence of the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine. Shortly therea er, Putin falsely accused Ukraine of committing genocide against Russian nationals and sent so-called peacekeepers into the DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine, constituting a wholesale rejection of the Minsk Agreements by the GoR. The United States, in coordination with partners and allies, imposed an embargo on the DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine as a result. Todayʼs designations further hold to account those actors who were directly responsible for Russiaʼs illegitimate and unlawful recognition of the DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine and facilitating the sham pretext used by Putin to justify the Russian Federationʼs unprovoked war against Ukraine. The eleven additional members of the Duma designated today consist of: Yuriy Vyacheslavovich Afonin Yevgeniy Ivanovich Bessonov Leonid Ivanovich Kalashnikov Vladimir Ivanovich Kashin Nikolay Vasilievich Kolomeitsev Aleksey Vladimirovich Kurinniy Ivan Ivanovich Melnikov Dmitriy Georgievich Novikov Nikolay Ivanovich Osadchiy Kazbek Kutsukovich Taysaev Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov Volodin and the eleven additional Duma members were designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been leaders, o icials, senior executive o icers, or members of the board of directors of the GoR. Each of these individuals were previously designated by the European Union and Canada. Volodin, Kalashnikov, and Melnikov were also previously designated by the United Kingdom. SANCT IONS IMPLICAT IONS https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 5/8 3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… As a result of todayʼs action, all property and interests in property of the individuals above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt. These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. SUPPORT ING T HE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE Today, OFAC issued Ukraine-related General License (GL) 23, pursuant to E.O. 14065, to authorize certain transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to nongovernmental organizationsʼ activities in the so-called Donetsk Peopleʼs Republic (DNR) or Luhansk Peopleʼs Republic (LNR) regions of Ukraine, including activities related to humanitarian projects to meet basic human needs, democracy building, education, non-commercial developments projects, and environmental and natural resource protection. OFACʼs issuance of GL 23 is the latest in a series of Ukraine-related general licenses that authorize U.S. persons to support certain humanitarian e orts and other activity in the DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine, including transactions related to the export of agricultural commodities or medicine, the response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the o icial business of international organizations and entities, as well as personal remittances, telecommunications, internet services, and mail. F UT HER GUIDANCE TO T HW ART SANCT IONS EVASION Today, OFAC also issued new public guidance to further cut o avenues for potential sanctions evasion by Russia, in support of the G7 leadersʼ commitment to maintain the e ectiveness of economic measures. This guidance continues to make clear that Treasuryʼs expansive sanctions actions against Russia require all U.S. persons to comply with OFAC regulations, regardless of whether a transaction is denominated in traditional fiat currency or virtual currency. Sanctioned Russian persons are known to employ a wide variety of measures in their e orts to evade U.S. and international sanctions. As such, U.S. persons, wherever located, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 6/8 3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… including firms that process virtual currency transactions, must be vigilant against attempts to circumvent OFAC regulations and must take risk-based steps to ensure they do not engage in prohibited transactions. OFAC is closely monitoring any e orts to circumvent or violate Russia-related sanctions, including through the use of virtual currency, and is committed to using its broad enforcement authorities to act against violations and to promote compliance. This guidance follows a recent alert from Treasuryʼs Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), advising all financial institutions to be vigilant against potential e orts to evade the sanctions and restrictions on Russia. The alert provides examples of red flags to assist in identifying suspected sanctions evasion activity and reminds financial institutions of their reporting obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act. IMPLEMENT ING T HE EXPANSIVE NEW EXECUT IVE ORDER Today President Biden issued the E.O. of March 11, 2022 to ban further imports and exports related to Russia, consistent with commitments made by the G7 leaders to deny Russia export revenues and to ensure that our citizens are not underwriting Putinʼs war. Among other things, this E.O. prohibits the importation into the United States of the following products of Russian Federation origin: fish, seafood, and preparations thereof; alcoholic beverages; and non-industrial diamonds. In addition, this E.O. bans the exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States, or by a U.S. person, wherever located, of U.S. dollar-denominated banknotes to the GoR or to any person located in the Russian Federation. Pursuant to the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations, which implement the E.O. of March 11, 2022, OFAC issued Russia-related GL 17 to authorize the import of existing purchases of prohibited products that are under pre-existing contract. OFAC also issued Russia-related GLs 18 and 19 to authorize certain activities regarding U.S. dollardenominated banknotes as they pertain to personal remittances and U.S. persons, respectively. For identifying information on the individuals and entities designated today, as well as new General Licenses and FAQs, click here. ### 1 Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org /licenses/by- sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 7/8 3/12/2022 Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Depar… https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0650 8/8
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