Treasury sanctions more than 30 people, firms involved in Crimea occupation

The Treasury Department on Friday targeted 21 individuals and nine entities with financial sanctions for their support of Russia’s occupation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers sanctions, banned more than a dozen Russian government officials, Russian business executives and Ukrainian separatist leaders involved with Russia’s occupation. OFAC also sanctioned nine technology, construction and shipping firms supporting the occupation.

The 32 targeted individuals and firms are banned from the United States financial system, and barred from using the U.S dollar. All of their assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen.

“The U.S. government is committed to maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and to targeting those who attempt to undermine the Minsk agreements,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.  

“Those who provide goods, services, or material support to individuals and entities sanctioned by the United States for their activities in Ukraine are engaging in behavior that could expose them to U.S. sanctions.”

The department targeted 11 leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a Russian-backed separatist government claiming control over part of Crimea. The targeted officials include DPR’s “ministers” of information, industry and trade, finance, foreign affairs, state security, justice and taxes.

The Treasury Department also targeted two Russian department of Energy government officials, Andrey Cherezov and Evgeniy Grabchak and several executives of a Russian construction firm building several roads and bridges in Crimea.