Washington targets Russian enablers in Cyprus

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Wednesday that it is further curbing Russia’s access to the international financial system through facilitators and their businesses. The list includes Cypriot nationals and Cypriot businesses. In addition, the UK announced new sanctions that target those who have knowingly assisted sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks, including two Cypriots.

In a press release, the US Department of the Treasury says that the United States, in coordination with the United Kingdom, is targeting the facilitation network of Alisher Usmanov, who is subject to sanctions in multiple jurisdictions.

"Today’s action also includes designations to reinforce existing measures and further disrupt Russia’s importation of critical technologies used in its war against Ukraine. In total, OFAC is designating 25 individuals and 29 entities with touchpoints in 20 jurisdictions" it adds.

The U.S. Department of State is concurrently designating several entities operating in the defense sector of the Russian Federation economy and entities supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as additional entities associated with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom). Additionally, the U.S. Department of Commerce will take concurrent action to add 28 entities to its Entity List, it says.

Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office said in a press release that new sanctions announced by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly target those who have knowingly assisted sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks.

It says that UK experts have uncovered their financial networks – tracing those responsible for facilitating the activity and sanctioning them directly with asset freezes, travel bans, transport sanctions, and trust services sanctions.

Among those sanctioned are two "Cypriot professional enablers supporting major Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov", it says.