Monitoring Desk
WASHINGTON: The United States (US) aimed sanctions Wednesday at the international network of Russian arms dealer Igor Zimenkov, who allegedly acquires advanced technologies for the Russian defense industry and exports arms to other countries.
Based in Russia and Cyprus, Igor Zimenkov and his son Jonatan Zimenkov strike deals on behalf of sanctioned key Russian defense entities like Rosoboronexport and Rostec, the US Treasury said.
They maintain an international network of companies in Belarus, Cyprus, Singapore, Bulgaria, Israel, and Uzbekistan.
US sanctions
The US sanctions blacklist 22 entities and individuals in the Zimenkov network.
The action was taken as part of the multilateral Russian Proxies, Elites, and Oligarchs Task Force formed in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to target the country’s elites and their agents.
“Desperate attempts of Russia to utilize proxies to circumvent US sanctions demonstrate that sanctions have made it much costlier and harder for Russia’s military-industrial complex to re-supply Vladimir Putin’s war machine,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.
US Treasury sanctions generally seek to freeze any assets targeted under US jurisdiction and ban any American entity or individual, including financial institutions with US branches, from doing business with them.
