U.S. fine-tunes sanctions related to Russia and Ukraine, Belarus' Belvnesheconombank also touched
To ensure the efficacy of existing sanctions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated and identified a range of individuals and entities related to Russia and Ukraine on July, 30. The action is designed to counter attempts to circumvent our sanctions, to further align U.S. measures with those of our international partners, and to provide additional information to assist the private sector with sanctions compliance, U.S. Department of the Treasury says.
OFAC designated individuals and entities that have supported serious and sustained evasion of existing sanctions, two entities that operate in the arms or related materiel sector of the Russian Federation, four former Ukrainian government officials or close associates for being complicit in the misappropriation of public assets and/or undermining of democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine as well as an entity owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, one of the designated individuals, five Crimean port operators, and one Crimean ferry operator. OFAC also identified several subsidiaries that are owned 50 percent or more by Vnesheconombank (VEB) and Rosneft.
Belarusian Belvnesheconombank, Russian Vnesheconombank’s unit that is chaired by Nadzeya Yermakova, former head of the National Bank of Belarus, is also on the list:
“BANK BELVEB OJSC (a.k.a. BELVESHECONOMBANK OAO; a.k.a. BELVNESHECONOMBANK OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY), 29 Pobeditelei ave., Minsk 220004, Belarus; SWIFT/BIC BELB BY 2X; Website bveb.by; Executive Order 13662 Directive Determination – Subject to Directive 1; All offices worldwide; for more information on directives, please visit the following link: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/ukraine.aspx#directives. [UKRAINE-EO13662] (Linked To: VNESHECONOMBANK).”
Sanctions have been imposed on subsidiaries of Rosneft – Vankorneft, Neftaktiv, Achinsk refinery, Angarsk refinery, Kuybyshev refinery, etc.
OFAC designated five Crimean port operators and one sea ferry operator – State Enterprise Kerch Sea Commercial Port, State Enterprise Sevastopol Sea Trading Port, State Enterprise Feodosia Sea Trading Port, State Enterprise Evpatoria Sea Commercial Port, State Enterprise Yalta Sea Trading Port, and State Shipping Company Kerch Sea Ferry; Development Corporation of North Caucasus, Izhevsky Mekhanichesky Zavod JSC (AKA Baikal) and Open Joint Stock Company Kontsern Izhmas, etc.
OFAC also designated four former Yanukovych regime officials and close associates, who are already on the EU sanctions list, which authorizes sanctions against those contributing to the current situation in Ukraine, including the misappropriation of public assets and the undermining of democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine. They are Andriy Petrovych Klyuyev, Sergey Vitalievich Kurchenko, Eduard Anatoliyovych Stavytsky, and Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych, a son of the ousted Ukrainian president
The EU, the USA and some other countries introduced sanctions against Russia in March 2014 in response to the annexation of the Crimea. After downing MH17 aircraft in Donetsk region and the escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the restrictive measures were stepped up. Entire sectors of the Russian economy are now under sanctions, not only individuals and entities.
In response, in August, 2014 Russia banned the import of food from countries that imposed sanctions, in particular, from the EU.
In June, 2015 Russia extended the embargo for another year.
