US Treasury places additional sanctions on Russian oligarchs

Kremlin families and Russian Duma members latest targets of economic penalties

A view of the Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's Federal Assembly, in central Moscow. AFP

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The US has imposed further sanctions on Russians in elite business and political circles, including those in the Kremlin and Duma, the Treasury Department said on Friday.

Washington said the fresh efforts were aimed at "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's enablers and elites”, as the US increases economic pressure on Russia two weeks after it launched its invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions name three family members of Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitriy Peskov.

Mr Peskov was sanctioned earlier in March, but his wife and two adult children have been included in this round. All of the family's US assets will now be blocked or seized.

The US also placed sanctions on Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Duma, one of the chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly.

Another 11 members of the Duma are also named in the sanctions.

“Treasury continues to hold Russian officials to account for enabling Putin’s unjustified and unprovoked war,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

In February, Donetsk and Luhansk, Russian-backed separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine, requested that Moscow recognise their independence. Russia accepted and later used this as a reason to attack Ukraine.

The 11 members of the Duma named in the sanctions encouraged Mr Volodin to support the recognition of those regions. He brought the issue to a vote and the body then approved sending the resolution to the Russian president.

Earlier on Friday, President Joe Biden announced that the US had moved to revoke Russia's “most favoured nation” trade status, which will place further tariffs and bans on Russian imports.

The US and its allies have been accused of missing many Russian oligarchs in their sanctions, but the new measures will affect some of the richest people in the country.

Washington also hit VTB Bank's 10-member management board after earlier economic measures took aim at the bank itself.

VTB Bank is Russia's second largest financial institution.

“Today’s actions also further isolates the severely damaged Russian economy by prohibiting trade in products that are key to the economic and financial interests of all Russian elites,” Ms Yellen said.