Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the State Departemnt announced sanctions on over 100 entities and individuals including those engaged in sanctions evasion in numerous third countries, complicit in furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine, and responsible for bolstering Russia’s future energy production and export capacity.
The December 11 action highlights Russia’s utilization of Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as well as the use of complex transnational networks and third-country cut-outs, to acquire much-needed technology and equipment for its war economy.
OFAC is designating a network of four entities and nine individuals based in the PRC, the Russian Federation, Hong Kong, and Pakistan involved in the facilitation and procurement of Chinese-manufactured weapons and technologies to Russia.
Chinese arms trader Hi Xiaoxun and affiliated entities structured deals circumventing United States sanctions and Chinese controls on the export of military-related materials, including for conventional weapons and electronic components with Russian customers for ammunition, loitering munitions, and semiconductor microchip manufacturing equipment.
Seven Turkish firms were cited for shipments of common high priority items to Russia-based manufacturers, including shipments of ball or roller bearings and microelectronics.
The UAE has emerged as a vital transshipment point for aircraft spares and equiment. OFAC cited eight Emirati aviation parts and forwarding firms for illicit shipments.
A further four Chinese were cited for trade including satellite imagery used to support Russian operations in Ukraine, microelectronics and machine tools.
Otehr actors and entities were cited in South Korea, Switzerland, Singapore, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives and Tajikistan.
Additional Russian companies were named in the recent action, covering a wide swath of Russian industry, from batteries and bearings to aircraft components, microelectronics, and the developer responsible for the Moscow International Business Center, home to seven of Europe's ten-highest skyscrapers.
The actions included three companies developing the Ust-Luga liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, a facility at a Baltic seaport in northwest Russia to be operated by Gazprom and RusGazDobycha, as well as mining tycoon Vladislav Sviblov and several affliliated companies.
OFAC aslo designated four Russian Financial Institutions involved in banking and asset management, including a prominent banker for western companies looking to exit Russia.
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