The United States imposed sanctions against Mriya, Novy Svet and Crimean energy workers
The US authorities have expanded the sanctions list against Russia due to the conflict around Ukraine and Crimea, adding three individuals and nine organizations to the list.
This is stated in a message released on Thursday by the US Treasury Department.
The list included three security officials : the head of the LPR Ministry of State Security, Alexander Basov, and Andrei Sushko (whom the Americans call an FSB officer who allegedly kidnapped and tortured a Mejlis activist), as well as Vladimir Zaritsky (the former commander-in-chief of Russia's missile forces, who headed the company that bought former Ukrainian sanatoriums after their nationalization).
The case concerns the former Ukrainian state-owned sanatoriums "Ai-Petri," "Dulber," and "Miskhor," which were nationalized after Crimea's reunification with Russia and then sold for $24 million. Sanctions have been imposed against these sanatoriums, as well as against the "Infrastructure Projects Management Company ," which participated in the hotel ownership transfer.
The Mriya Hotel , owned by Sberbank, was also sanctioned. The financial institution itself hasn't dared enter Crimea due to the threat of sanctions. The published US list indicates that the resort is currently registered to the company Garant-SV , and Sberbank spent approximately $300 million on the construction of the Crimean hotel.
Also on the list are the energy company JSC KrymTEC and Yuzhny Proekt LLC (the company that bought the Novy Svet winery , which is associated with billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk’s Rossiya Bank).
“Today’s list highlights the United States’ enduring partnership with Ukraine and the European Union (EU), and our united opposition to Russia’s annexation and occupation of Crimea and the use of force to control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine.
The actions are aimed at those who commit serious human rights violations in order to facilitate Russia's occupation or control of parts of Ukraine, as well as entities and individuals supporting Russia's attempts to integrate Crimea through private investment and large privatization projects. This activity includes, in particular, Russia's sale of illegally seized and nationalized Ukrainian assets to entities supporting the Kremlin agenda.
As a result of today's action, all property and interests in the property of the named persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them ," the Treasury Department said in a statement.
"The Treasury Department remains committed to pursuing Russian companies that seek to profit from Russia's illegal annexation and occupation of Crimea. Our sanctions are a clear reminder that efforts to normalize investment and economic relations with those operating in Crimea will not be tolerated and will be subject to U.S. and EU sanctions authorities," said Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The US imposed sanctions against Mriya, Novy Svet, and Crimean energy companies.