The United States has blacklisted the alleged girlfriend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the owner of London's second largest estate in a new round of sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
Several other key Russian figures believed to be close to Putin have also come under US business sanctions, according to the AFP news agency.
The United States has also imposed sanctions on individuals who were designated by Russia to administer the occupied territories in Ukraine.
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The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Putin ally and billionaire Andrei Grigorievich Guriev, who owns Vuitton, the second-largest estate in London after Buckingham Palace.
Guriev is the founder and former deputy chairman of Fas Agro, the world's largest fertilizer supplier.
After the US sanctions, now the assets of Guriev and his son in American banks will be confiscated and companies and individuals having business relations with them will also face difficulties in transactions with American banks.
The US also blacklisted Guriev's Caribbean-based 81-meter yacht Alfa Nero, which threatens to impound it.
However, the US said that Alpha Nero had reportedly turned off its location-tracking hardware to avoid being seized.
The U.S. Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on former Olympic gymnast Alena Kabaeva, who is believed to be Putin's girlfriend, and Natalia Popova, the wife of Kirill Dmitriev, the manager of the Russian government's largest sovereign wealth fund.
According to the Treasury Department, Popova works for the technology firm Anupriktika, which is run by one of Putin's daughters.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that "innocent people are being victimized by Russia's aggression and illegal war, while Putin's cronies have enriched themselves and amassed wealth for a lavish lifestyle." are.'
"The Treasury Department will do everything possible to ensure that Russian elites and Kremlin officials are held accountable for their contributions to a war that has cost countless lives," Yellen said.
