US sanctions 18 Russian people, 4 firms for alleged malign activity

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (PRIME) -- The U.S. has sanctioned 18 Russian individuals, including 15 members of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), and four companies for reportedly taking part in malign activities, including interfering in the 2016 U.S. election, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a press release late Wednesday.

“Today’s action also includes the designation of 15 members of the GRU, a previously designated Russian military intelligence organization, for their involvement in a wide range of malign activity, including attempting to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election, efforts to undermine international organizations through cyber-enabled means, and an assassination attempt in the U.K.,” the press release said.

The nine GRU officers accused of interfering with the U.S. 2016 election, who now face charges under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), are Viktor Netyksho, Boris Antonov, Ivan Yermakov, Alexei Lukashev, Nikolai Kozachek, Artem Malyshev, Alexander Osadchuk, Alexei Potemkin and Anatoly Kovalev.

The press release said Russian hackers targeted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the Treasury Department sanctioned GRU officers Alexei Morenets, Yevgeny Serebryakov, Oleg Sotnikov, and Alexei Minin who it says played a key role in compromising the WADA database.

The U.S. has sanctioned Russian nationals Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov over their alleged involvement in the nerve agent attack against former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the U.K.

The U.K.-based Bellingcat project claimed that it had identified Boshirov as Russian military intelligence colonel Anatoly Chepiga and suggested that Petrov was actually a military doctor Alexander Mishkin.

Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, attacking the Skripals and hacking the WADA.

The Treasury also said it sanctioned four Russian media outlets over their alleged attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The sanctioned entities include the Federal News Agency, Economy Today and Nevskiy News, all of which the Treasury said are linked to Concord Management and Consulting, as well as USA Really website, linked to the Federal News Agency.

The U.S. also imposed sanctions against Project Lakhta chief accountant Yelena Khusyaynova and USA Really’s chief Alexander Malkevich.

The Treasury also imposed sanctions against Viktor Boyarkin, a former GRU officer who it said is closely linked to businessman Oleg Deripaska.

“Viktor Boyarkin is a former GRU officer who reports directly to Deripaska and has led business negotiations on Deripaska’s behalf,” the Treasury statement said.

The Treasury asserted that Boyarkin and Deripaska were allegedly involved in providing financial support to a political party ahead of the October 16, 2016 elections in Montenegro.

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