Twelve More Russians Sanctioned under Magnitsky Act (with Turza Comment)
On May 20, 2014, the U.S. State and Treasury Departments announced that an additional 12 Russian individuals were sanctioned pursuant to the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act ("Magnitsky Act"). The Magnitsky Act authorizes the State and Treasury Departments to designate not only individuals who were involved in the detention and death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, but also those responsible for gross human rights abuses against individuals seeking to (i) expose illegal activity carried out by Russian government officials; or (ii) obtain, exercise, defend or promote international human rights within Russia.
The individuals sanctioned today under the Office of Foreign Assets Control designator [MAGINT] include Dmitry Klyuev, who is alleged to be the kingpin of a Russian organized crime group, and Igor Alisov, the judge who posthumously convicted Magnitsky for tax fraud. Others named for their involvement in Magnitsky's abuse, detention and death include prison officials, a law enforcement officer and four co-conspirators in the supposed tax fraud. Two of the 12 designees (Umar Sugaipov and Musa Vakhayev) were included based on their participation in the extrajudicial killings of a whistleblower and a journalist, respectively. Press reports indicate that the Obama administration may have included the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, in a classified version of the list. The Investigative Committee is the main federal investigating authority in the Russian Federation and fulfills a role similar to that of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States.
Turza Comment: While there is no indication that today's sanctions were related to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the timing of the Magnitsky Act designations – five days before the scheduled Ukrainian Presidential election – may be a subtle reminder to Russian officials that the United States operates multiple sanctions regimes that can be used to apply pressure on the Russian Federation. At the very least, they demonstrate that the Obama administration is ready and willing to use sanctions to target human rights violators, as well as those who suppress efforts to expose criminality, corruption and wrongdoing in Russia.
See: Treasury Department Press Release.
Related news: Sanctions Update for Week of May 12, 2014 (with Turza Comment) (May 16, 2014); Update on Ukraine and Other Sanctions - Week of May 5 (with Turza Comment) (May 9, 2014); Sanctions Update: Ukraine and Beyond (with Turza Comment) (May 2, 2014).
See also: Cabinet Sanctions Page (some materials accessible to Cabinet subscribers only).
For more information, please contact Dale Turza, Ken Wainstein, James Treanor or Keith Gerver.