MOSCOW–The Trump administration on Friday imposed major sanctions against 24 Russians, striking at allies of President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s “malign activity.”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released a statement which outlined these activities, “including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities.”
Below are the most prominent businessmen targeted along with their main assets and connections, as well as extracts from the U.S. Treasury statement.
Designated Russian Oligarchs
OLEG DERIPASKA, main owner of En+, co-owner of Rusal and Norilsk Nickel
Deripaska is ranked by Forbes magazine as Russia’s 19th richest businessman with a net worth of $6.7 billion. Deripaska holds regular meetings with Putin, invested heavily in Russia’s 2014 Sochi winter Olympics, and has said his own interests are indivisible from the state’s.
En+ has a 48 percent stake in Rusal, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers. Rusal is listed in Hong Kong and counts Glencore among its shareholders.
Rusal has assets in Italy, Ireland, Sweden, as well as Nigeria, Guyana, Guinea, and a stake in Australian QAL, the world’s top alumina refinery. Over 10 percent of Rusal’s total sales go to the United States.
FROM U.S. TREASURY STATEMENT:
“Oleg Deripaska is being designated … for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as … for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy.”
VIKTOR VEKSELBERG, key owner of Renova holding group
Forbes magazine ranks Vekselberg as Russia’s ninth richest businessman with a net worth of $14.4 billion. He is famous for bringing back a collection of Faberge eggs to Russia.
Apart from Russia, Renova has assets in the United States and Europe, of which the most notable are stakes in the Swiss companies Sulzer, Schmolz+Bickenbach and Oerlikon. They are not under sanctions.
Vekselberg and his partners also have a stake in Rusal, which supplies aluminum to the United States and other countries.
FROM U.S. TREASURY STATEMENT:
“Viktor Vekselberg is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Vekselberg is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Renova Group.”
KIRILL SHAMALOV, minority shareholder with petrochemical company Sibur
Shamalov married Putin’s youngest daughter Katerina in February 2013, multiple sources who were at the wedding told Reuters. After the marriage, he swiftly grew his wealth through investments in Russia’s biggest petrochemical company Sibur. Unconfirmed media reports say Shamalov and Putin’s daughter have since split.
Forbes magazine says Shamalov is Russia’s 72nd richest businessman with a net worth of $1.4 billion. Shamalov now owns 3.9 pct in Sibur. Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, holds a stake in the company as well. Sibur is not under sanctions.
FROM U.S. TREASURY STATEMENT:
“Kirill Shamalov is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Shamalov married Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova in February 2013 and his fortunes drastically improved following the marriage.”
ANDREI SKOCH, a deputy in the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament
Forbes magazine says Skoch is Russia’s 23rd wealthiest businessman with a net worth of $4.9 billion. Skoch’s father, Vladimir, owns a stake in USM holding. Businessman Alisher Usmanov is a key shareholder in USM. Neither Usmanov nor USM are under sanctions.
Via USM, Skoch’s father co-owns Metalloinvest, Russia’s largest and the world’s second-largest mining company by the size of iron ore reserves, with units in Ireland, Switzerland and Guinea.
USM also has stakes in Megafon, Russia’s second largest mobile operator, in MAIL.RU Group, one of Russia’s largest internet companies, and in Russian social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.
USM also has stakes in Alibaba, JD.com, Xiaomi, Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, Zalando, Flipkart, Ola Cabs, Didi Chuxing, ZocDoc and Klarna.
FROM U.S. TREASURY STATEMENT:
“Andrei Skoch is being designated for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation. Skoch is a deputy of the Russian Federation’s State Duma.”
SULEIMAN KERIMOV, member of the Russian upper house of parliament
Kerimov is ranked by Forbes magazine as Russia’s 20th wealthiest businessman, with a net worth of $6.4 billion. Embroiled in a tax fraud investigation in France, the Kremlin has said it will do all it can to help him.
Polyus, Russia’s largest gold producer, is controlled by Kerimov’s family. Polyus is not under sanctions.
FROM U.S. TREASURY STATEMENT:
“Suleiman Kerimov is being designated for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation. Kerimov is a member of the Russian Federation Council.”
VLADIMIR BOGDANOV, chief executive of oil company Surgutneftegaz
Forbes magazine puts Bogdanov’s net worth at $1.8 billion, making him Russia’s 53rd wealthiest businessman.
Siberia’s Surgut sits on Russia’s biggest corporate cash pile, with bank deposits and cash totaling 2.2 trillion rubles($38 billion) in 2017, according to Reuters calculations based on its regulatory filings.
The company is owned by its employees, according to official data. Gennady Timchenko, a friend of Putin who is under U.S. sanctions, said in a 2012 interview with Forbes magazine that Surgut was trading oil through Timchenko’s trading companies.
Surgutneftegaz is already under sanctions.
FROM U.S. TREASURY STATEMENT:
“Vladimir Bogdanov is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Bogdanov is the Director General and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Surgutneftegaz, a vertically integrated oil company operating in Russia.”
IGOR ROTENBERG, son of Arkady Rotenberg, Putin’s former judo partner
Forbes magazine says Igor Rotenberg is Russia’s 93rd richest businessman and worth $1.1 billion.
Arkady Rotenberg and his brother Boris Rotenberg are already under sanctions due to their close connections to Putin whom they have known since they practiced judo together in St Petersburg in Putin’s younger days. Arkady Rotenberg is now overseeing the construction of a bridge Putin has championed to Russia-annexed Crimea.
FROM U.S. TREASURY STATEMENT:
“Igor Rotenberg is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Rotenberg acquired significant assets from his father, Arkady Rotenberg, after OFAC designated the latter in March 2014. Specifically Arkady Rotenberg sold Igor Rotenberg 79 percent of the Russian oil and gas drilling company Gazprom Burenie.”
Designated Oligarch-Owned Companies
Companies from Deripaska’s business empire:
B-Finance Ltd
Basic Element
EN+ Group
EuroSibEnergo
Rusal
Russian Machines
GAZ Group
Agroholding Kuban
Companies from Igor Rotenberg’s business empire:
Gazprom Burenie, which provides oil and gas exploration services in Russia and NPV Engineering
Shamalov’s Ladoga Menedzhment, which is engaged in deposit banking
Vekselberg’s Renova Group
Designated Russian State-Owned Firms
Rosoboroneksport and the Russian Financial Corporation Bank which is owned by Rosoboroneksport
Designated Russian Government Officials
Andrey Akimov, chairman of the board at Gazprombank
Andrey Kostin, president of VTB bank
*Alexey Miller, chief executive of Gazprom
Mikhail Fradkov, president of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies
Sergey Fursenko, member of the board of directors of Gazprom Neft
Oleg Govorun, head of the Presidential Directorate for Social and Economic Cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States Member Countries
Alexey Dyumin, the governor of the Tula region
Vladimir Kolokoltsev, the minister of internal affairs
Konstantin Kosachev, the chairperson of the council of the Federation Committee on Foreign Affairs
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council
Vladislav Reznik, member of the Russian State Duma
Evgeniy Shkolov, an aide to the President Vladimir Putin
Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the central bank
Vladimir Ustinov, the plenipotentiary envoy to Russia’s Southern Federal District
Timur Valiulin, the head of the General Administration for Combating Extremism within Russia’s Interior Ministry
Alexander Zharov, the head of Roskomnadzor
Viktor Zolotov, the director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops and Commander of the National Guard Troops
*Gazprom’s key European partners include OMV, Engie, Uniper, Royal Dutch Shell, BASF, E.ON, Eni, Gasunie, as well as Turkey’s Botas, China’s CNPC, Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi, among others.
**Data from OFAC, public interviews, companies information
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