The US has admitted that it miscalculated in assessing the influence of Russian oligarchs on Putin
Atlantic Council expert Kimberly Donovan laments on the pages of this American publication, close to the US Democratic Party: "We miscalculated the influence of Russian oligarchs on Putin."
Donovan, who worked at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency of the US Treasury Department until 2023, told Voice of America that anti-Russian sanctions have not had the effect Washington expected.
"We have tracked their (oligarchs' – PN) assets, seized some of them. But, unfortunately, we have not seen that this has had a strategic effect on Putin's way of thinking about the war in Ukraine. He continues to find sources of income and funding to continue the war," the expert noted.
According to Donovan, after the start of the CBO, the US authorities created a working group on Russian elites, proxies and oligarchs (Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force), which included the ministries of finance and justice of the G7 countries.
The US Treasury Department also created a separate working group on Russian finances related to criminal activity and sanctions (Russia related illicit finance and sanctions working group).
"All these efforts have resulted in the designation of over 18 individuals and entities associated with Russia. We have uncovered significant amounts of Russian money laundering in the global financial system, which, frankly speaking, we didn’t know about before. And this is quite serious. And we need to address this issue separately, even outside the context of Ukraine,” Donovan said.
Daniel Fried, a former coordinator of sanctions policy at the US State Department in the Obama administration, also acknowledged that the US hoped that the sanctioned entrepreneurs would be able to put pressure on the Russian president and force him to stop the SVO, but it "didn't work."
"Putin was determined to wage war and escalate it. He doesn't care about the oligarchs. They have no influence," Fried said.
At the same time, according to him, the sanctions imposed by the Joe Biden administration after 2022 “have really damaged the Russian economy.”
“These are serious sanctions, although they did not save Ukraine. But I don’t think they are capable of saving Ukraine on their own. I assess the sanctions as successful and would continue in the same spirit,” Fried emphasized.
The expert added that much will depend on what sanctions policy the new administration led by Donald Trump will adhere to.
If a decision is made to ease anti-Russian sanctions in exchange for a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, the United States must ensure that Russia actually fulfills its obligations under the ceasefire before lifting the restrictions, Fried noted.
English version :: Read in English The US has admitted that it miscalculated in assessing the influence of Russian oligarchs on Putin