US Targets Russian, Foreign Firms for Supplying Russian War Machine

The U.S. this week announced new Russia-related sanctions, designating more than 150 Russian business people, government officials, financial institutions, technology suppliers and foreign companies for supplying Russia with controlled goods or aiding the government. The sanctions include nearly 100 new designations imposed by the Treasury Department and more than 70 designations by the State Department and are designed to undermine Russia’s military supply chains, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

The designations will “deprive [Russian President Vladimir] Putin of the equipment, technology, and services he needs to wage his barbaric war on Ukraine,” Yellen said, adding that entities that “profit from invasion and their proximity to the Kremlin will be held accountable, and today’s actions show our global reach in imposing severe costs on Putin’s oligarchs.”

Among those designated were various Russian metal companies, auto manufacturers, a ship construction company and other businesses operating in the country’s industrial sector. The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued new General License 72 to authorize the wind down of certain transactions with those companies or their majority-owned subsidiaries through 12:01 a.m. EST Dec. 13. OFAC also issued updated GL 55A, replacing GL 55 (see 2211230047), which authorizes certain transactions related to crude oil originating from the Sakhalin-2 project, an oil and gas development business based in Russia. The license was updated to extend its expiration date from Sept. 30 to 12:01 a.m. EST June 28, 2024.

The agency also sanctioned networks of companies operating outside Russia, including a Finland-based network of businesses and people that ship foreign electronics to Russia end-users. Finland-based logistics firms Siberica Oy and Luminor Oy have shipped a “wide variety” of electronics to Russia, including drone cameras, high-performance optical filters and lithium batteries, the agency said. OFAC sanctioned French national Gabriel Temin, owner of Siberica, and Estonian national Catherine Esther Temin, a deputy board member of Siberica.

OFAC named and sanctioned several Russian companies that bought from the Finland network: Flytechgroup Limited Liability Company, OOO NPK Fotonika Limited Liability Company, Globaltrans Limited, Limited Liability Company Aservice and OOO Mayak.

The agency also designated two Turkey-based companies, Margiana Insaat Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi and Demirci Bilisim Ticaret Sanayi Limited Sirketi, for sending drone parts, sensors or measuring tools to Russia. Margiana’s shipments to Russia have included parts recovered in Russian weapons systems used against Ukraine, OFAC said.

OFAC also imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs, including Andrei Removich Bokarev, who “has served” as president of newly sanctioned Russian rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding JSC, which produces parts for infantry combat vehicles. The agency also targeted Bokarev’s business partner, Iskandar Kakhramonovich Makhmudov, who founded Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, a leading Russian metal producer sanctioned in July (see 2307200021).

Others targeted by OFAC include Joint Stock Company Gavrilov Yam Machine Building Plant Agat, an aircraft engine manufacturer; Joint Stock Company Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, a weapons producer; and Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo Ulyanovskii Patronnyi Zavod, an ammunition manufacturer.

The State Department sanctioned various Russia-based business, including architecture company JSC Energies; engineering company Nova Energies Limited Liability Company; and underground mining equipment manufacturer LLC Armz Mining Machines. Others designated include United Arab Emirates-based Green Energy Solutions Project Management Services Sole Proprietorship LLC and several companies based in Turkey, including ship repair company Denkar Ship Construction Incorporated Company, shipyard agency ID Ship Agency Trade Limited Company and CTL DIS Ticaret Limited Sirketi, which ships export-controlled electronic components to companies in Russia.