President Joe Biden has announced punishing sanctions against a handful of elite Russian oligarchs as part of his package of measures seeking to penalize Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian elites targeted by Thursday’s round of sanctions are either from prominent families close to Putin himself or powerful leaders in the country’s financial sector, the administration said.
They will now be subject to ‘full blocking sanctions’ meaning they are cut off from the U.S. financial system, any assets they hold in the United States are frozen, and they are barred from entering the U.S.
‘This action includes individuals who have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian state, and have elevated their family members into some of the highest position of powers in the country,’ the White House said in a statement.
‘It also includes financial figures who sit atop Russia’s largest financial institutions and are responsible for providing the resources necessary to support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,’ the statement added.
President Joe Biden has announced punishing sanctions against a handful of elite Russian oligarchs as part of his package of measures punishing the invasion of Ukraine
Putin himself has not yet been targeted with individual sanctions, and his wealth, whatever it may be, is so well hidden that it’s unclear whether sanctions would have any impact
Putin himself has not yet been targeted with individual sanctions – a step that would be extraordinary but which Biden says remains ‘on the table.’
However, it’s unclear whether individual sanctions against Putin himself would have any significant impact, because the Russian leader’s wealth remains a complete enigma and out of the reach of U.S. enforcement.
Putin is rumored to have a personal fortune of hundreds of billions, possibly making him the richest man in the world, but it has never been confirmed. Forbes recently called it ‘the most elusive riddle in wealth hunting.’
Here are the Russians that Biden has named for individual sanctions:
Sergei Borisovich Ivanov and his son Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov
The Treasury Department names the Ivanovs as a family ‘close to Putin.’
‘Elites close to Putin continue to leverage their proximity to the Russian President to pillage the Russian state, enrich themselves, and elevate their family members into some of the highest positions of power in the country at the expense of the Russian people,’ the department said in a statement.
Sergei B. Ivanov is Russia’s Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology, and Transport.
Sergei B. Ivanov is Russia’s Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology, and Transport
His son, Sergei S. Ivanov, is the current CEO of Russian state-owned diamond mining company Alrosa and a board member of Gazprombank
He is reportedly one of Putin’s closest allies, and previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Deputy Prime Minister, and Defense Minister of Russia.
He is also a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Sergei B. Ivanov has been close to Putin since before the Russian leader took power, working as his deputy when Putin led the FSB, the successor security agency to the Soviet KGB.
After Putin took power in 1999, the elder Ivanov has served in a variety of government roles, including as Russia’s Minister of Defense.
His son, Sergei S. Ivanov, is the current CEO of Russian state-owned diamond mining company Alrosa and a board member of Gazprombank.
While the elder Ivanov has been previously targeted by U.S. sanctions, the latest round re-designates him and adds his son.
Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev and his son Andrey Patrushev
Nikolai Patrushev is the Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council and is reported to be a longtime close associate of Putin.
He succeeded Putin as Director of the Russian FSB, leading the security agency from 1999 to 2008.
The Treasury Department lists the Patrushev family as another ‘close to Putin’ and says: ‘Many of these individuals are believed to participate in, or benefit from, the Russian regime’s kleptocracy, along with their family members.’
Nikolai Patrushev is the Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council and is reported to be a longtime close associate of Putin
Patrushev’s son, Andrey Patrushev, served in leadership roles at Gazprom Neft and is employed in Russia’s energy sector
Patrushev’s son, Andrey Patrushev, served in leadership roles at Gazprom Neft and is employed in Russia’s energy sector.
Andrey Patrushev was born in 1981 in Leningrad, according to a Gazprom bio.
From 2013 to 2015, he was Deputy CEO for Capital Construction of Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk LLC.
He also worked as Member of the Management Board, Deputy CEO for the Development of Offshore Projects of Gazprom Neft PJSC.
Igor Ivanovich Sechin and his son Ivan Igorevich Sechin
Igor Sechin is CEO, Chairman of the Management Board, and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft, one of the world’s largest publicly traded oil companies.
He was formerly the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation from 2008 until 2012 and is reportedly a close ally of Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin walks with Chief Executive of oil producer Rosneft Igor Sechin as they visit Konevsky Monastery on Konevets Island in Leningrad last year
Igor Sechin is CEO, Chairman of the Management Board, and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of oil company Rosneft
He had had ties to Putin since the 1994, when Putin was first deputy mayor of St. Petersburg and Sechin served as his chief of staff.
Since then, Sechin has followed Putin throughout his career, serving in a variety of roles in the Russian government.
His son Ivan Sechin was born in 1989 and graduated from the Lomonosov business school at Moscow State University.
Ivan Sechin is believed to work closely with his father at Rosneft, where he is reportedly a deputy head of department.
Andrey Sergeyevich Puchkov, Yuriy Alekseyevich Soloviev, and his wife Galina Olegovna Ulyutina
Andrey Sergeyevich Puchkov (left) and Yuriy Alekseyevich Soloviev (right) are two high-ranking VTB Bank executives who work closely with VTB Bank chief executive Andrei Kostin, who has previously been sanctioned
Puchkov and Soloviev are two high-ranking VTB Bank executives who work closely with VTB Bank chief executive Andrei Kostin, who has previously been sanctioned.
Puchkov also has other business interests beyond VTB, including Moscow-based real estate companies Limited Liability Company Atlant S and Limited Liability Company Inspira Invest A.
Soloviev’s wife, Galina Olegovna Ulyutina, was previously implicated in a ‘golden passport’ scheme, according to the Treasury Department.
Alexander Aleksandrovich Vedyakhin
The Treasury Department designates Vedyakhin as a ‘financial sector elite.’
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of SberBank
‘Senior executives at state-owned banks, like Kremlin-linked elites, take advantage of their closeness to the Russian power vertical to advance the interests of the Russian state while maintaining an extravagant standard of living,’ the department said in a statement.
Vedyakhin is First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank.
He was born in 1977 in Volograd, and in the past decade has completed advanced courses at Stanford and MIT in the United States.
