A look at some of the Russian officials hit by US sanctions | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Cloudy  2.2°C

A look at some of the Russian officials hit by US sanctions

File-This Nov. 10, 2017, file photo shows Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, right, walking to attend the APEC Business Advisory Council dialogue in Danang, Vietnam. The United States punished dozens of Russian oligarchs and government officials on Friday, April 6, 2018, with sanctions that took direct aim at President Putin's inner circle, as President Donald Trump's administration tried to show he's not afraid to take tough action against Moscow. Seven Russian tycoons, including aluminum magnate Deripaska, were targeted, along with 17 officials and a dozen Russian companies, the Treasury Department said. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

MOSCOW - Some of Russia's richest and most influential people were hit with sanctions Friday by President Donald Trump's U.S. administration.

In total, 24 Russian officials and tycoons face new restrictions while a dozen companies were targeted as Washington stepped up its condemnation of Russian actions over recent years, including its 2014 annexation of Crimea, its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, hacking attacks and meddling in Western elections.

A look at some of those targeted by the new U.S. sanctions:

___

OLIGARCHS

- Kirill Shamalov: Russia's youngest billionaire has an estimated wealth of $1.4 billion according to Forbes magazine. In 2014, Shamalov acquired a large share of Russian petrochemical company Sibur, later selling most of his stake for an undisclosed sum. The 36-year-old is reportedly President Vladimir Putin's son-in-law, married to his daughter Katerina Tikhonova. The Kremlin has never acknowledged that Tikhonova is Putin's daughter as the Russian leader has sought to keep his two daughters out of the public eye. Media reports earlier this year alleged the couple had split.

- Igor Rotenberg: The 44-year-old is the son of billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, Putin's friend since both started practicing judo as teenagers in the 1960s. He began his career as a partner of his father and later came to control the oil and gas exploration company, Gazprom Burenie, and an operator of a nationwide toll system for having trucks. Forbes estimated his wealth at over $1.1 billion.

- Oleg Deripaska: The 55-year-old tycoon controls a business empire with assets including aluminum, energy and construction and is worth $5.3 billion, according to Forbes. Deripaska figured in the Russia investigation over his ties to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who once worked as his consultant.

- Viktor Vekselberg: The 60-year-old magnate built his fortune, currently estimated by Forbes at $14.6 billion, by investing in aluminum and oil industries. More recently, he has expanded his assets to include industrial equipment and high technologies. Vekselberg also gained notoriety in 2004 by buying the world's largest private collection of imperial Faberge eggs — nine in total — and bringing it back to Russia.

___

OFFICIALS

- Andrei Kostin: The 61-year-old Kostin heads Russia's second-largest bank, VTB, which is majority-owned by the state. As the head of the bank that plays a pivotal role in the Russian economy, Kostin is part of the Kremlin elite and is involved in making key economic decisions.

- Alexei Miller: The 56-year-old CEO of Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled natural gas giant, is a longtime associate of Putin. Miller has played a key role in spearheading Gazprom's expansion, including its booming gas sales to Europe.

- Nikolai Patrushev: The 66-year-old KGB veteran is the secretary of the presidential Security Council, a body that includes top Cabinet officials and chiefs of intelligence agencies. Patrushev, known for his hawkish anti-Western stance, has been involved in preparing key foreign policy decisions and is believed to be one of Putin's closest and most influential advisers.

- Viktor Zolotov: The 64-year-old began his career as a KGB bodyguard in the 1970s and served as the chief of the presidential security service for 13 years from 2000. Zolotov is another powerful representative of Kremlin hawks. As the National Guard chief, he commands a force that numbers hundreds of thousands of troops.

- Alexei Dyumin: The 45-year old served as Putin's chief security guard and assistant before being promoted to lead the Russian military's special operations forces. In 2014, he oversaw the annexation of Crimea and the following year became a deputy defence minister. Since his 2016 appointment as governor of the Tula region, Dyumin has received unusually prominent coverage by state media, fueling speculation Putin is grooming him as a possible successor.

- Yevgeny Shkolov: The 62-year-old has reportedly known Putin since the 1980s when they worked together as KGB officers in Dresden, East Germany. In 2012, Putin named Shkolov to a key Kremlin position overseeing personnel and later put him in charge of anti-corruption efforts. Shkolov has kept a low profile but is believed to be close to Putin.

- Vladimir Kolokoltsev: The 56-year-old is a career police officer, who became Russia's Interior Minister in charge of the entire national police force in 2012. Kolokoltsev is considered to be a good professional who doesn't have much political clout.

- Mikhail Fradkov: The 67-year-old began his career as a Soviet foreign trade official and then held a succession of government jobs. He served as the prime minister between 2004 and 2007 during Putin's second presidential term, and in 2007-2016 headed Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, a top KGB successor agency dealing with spying abroad. In 2017, he was given an honorary retirement position at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, a government-funded think-tank that was reportedly involved in the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

- Alexander Zharov: The 53-year-old head of Roskomnadzor, the state communications oversight agency, has directed its efforts to shut some online media and other resources critical of the Kremlin, but he's not perceived as someone who wields any political influence.

- Konstantin Kosachev: The 55-year-old is a career diplomat who held various Foreign Ministry positions until his election to parliament in 1999. As the chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the upper house of parliament, Kosachev has actively promoted the Kremlin foreign policy agenda, but like other members of the rubber-stamp parliament he's not seen as close to decision-making.

___

COMPANIES

The U.S. list includes several companies owned and controlled by Deripaska, including Basic Element Limited and EN+ Group located in Jersey. The list also includes companies controlled by Shamalov, Rotenberg and Vekselberg. In addition, the sanctions target the state-controlled arms trader, Rosoboronexport, and the Russian Financial Corporation Bank owned by it.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018
The Associated Press

  • Popular kelowna News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile