US imposes sanctions on Russian oligarchs, officials for 'malign activity'

WASHINGTON – The United States imposed sanctions on Friday against Russian businessmen, companies and government officials, striking at associates of President Vladimir Putin in one of Washington's most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for a range of activities, including alleged meddling in the 2016 US election.

The action, taken under pressure from the US Congress, freezes the US assets of "oligarchs" such as aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska and lawmaker Suleiman Kerimov, whose family controls Russia's largest gold producer, Polyus.

The Treasury Department sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, plus 17 senior Russian government officials, are likely to complicate US President Donald Trump's hopes for good relations with Putin.

"The Russian government engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.