President Joe Biden announced on March 3 that the United States is adding to the list of oligarchs it’s sanctioning in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“One of the big factors is, of course, the proximity to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of the strategy on who to sanction. “We want him to feel the squeeze; we want those around him to feel the squeeze.”
Psaki said this likely wasn’t the last set of oligarchs to be sanctioned.
The new sanctions also include visa restrictions on 19 Russian elites and 47 of their family members and close associates.
The White House also says it’s working with foreign governments to seize the assets of Russian elites, including “yachts, luxury apartments, money and other ill-gotten gains.”
Biden told reporters on March 3 that the sanctions already imposed on Putin’s inner circle have “had a profound impact already.”
“Our interest is in maintaining the strongest unified economic impact campaign on Putin in all history, and I think we’re well on the way to doing that,” Biden said.
In Biden’s State of the Union address this week, he announced a Department of Justice effort to go after the assets of Russian oligarchs. The Department of Treasury will share financial intelligence and other evidence where appropriate with the Department of Justice to support criminal prosecutions and seizure of assets, according to the March 3 announcement.
He also reiterated on March 3 that the United States was “going to continue to support Ukrainian people with direct assistance.”
The list of oligarchs includes Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, “one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals and a close ally of Putin,” as well as Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Others named are Nikolai Tokarev, Boris Rotenberg, Arkady Rotenberg, Sergei Chemezov, Igor Shuvalov, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, and their family members.
The White House announcement also includes sanctions against a list of Russian think tanks and media outlets it considers “disinformation targets.”
“These entities have spread false narratives that advance Russian strategic objectives and falsely justify the Kremlin’s activities,” the White House statement reads.
That list of entities designated by the Treasury includes SDN Strategic Culture Foundation and associated outlets Odna Rodyna, Rhythm of Eurasia, and Journal Kamerton. It also includes SouthFront, SDN InfoRos, New Eastern Outlook, Oriental Review, United World International, and Geopolitical.
