The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on four key figures in the Russian financial conglomerate Alfa Group: Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, German Khan and Alexey Kuzmichev.
“Wealthy Russian elites should get over the idea that they can conduct business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people,” Deputy Finance Minister Wally Adeyemo said, according to The Kyiv Independent. “Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those who are enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Adeyemo continued. Each of the four men sits on the supervisory board of Alfa-Group, which is one of the most important financial and investment firms in Russia. As a subsidiary, Alfa-Group also holds the country’s largest commercial bank, Alfa-Bank. The assets and property of the sanctioned individuals in the U.S. are now blocked and any financial transactions with them are prohibited.
Russian-Israeli businessman already in custody
According to the Ministry of Finance, the four businessmen are also already on the sanctions lists of Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand and the UK. The latest sanctions package also includes the Russian Employers’ Association and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), an organization active in the country’s technology sector. According to the statement, the RSPP “has also been involved in activities related to Russia’s responses to the sanctions imposed on the Putin regime since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” Russian-Israeli businessman Mikhail Fridman was arrested in the United Kingdom in December 2022. He was released on bail on suspicion of fraud charges. Investigative reporters found out in May that his company, Alpha Insurance Firm, insures the vehicles of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
Image: Governor Tom Wolf from Harrisburg, PA, Governor Wolf Joins Vice President Biden to Launch “It’s On Us” National Spring Week of Action (25984880660), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
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