“Among the most important since the start of the war.” Washington imposes a sweeping package of sanctions on Russia and its supporters

Washington, USA (CNN) — The US Treasury Department imposed, Friday, “one of the most significant sanctions to date” to crack down on those helping Moscow in its war against Ukraine, targeting Russia’s metals and mining sector, and its financial institutions. The sanctions also include Russia’s military supply chain, and individuals and companies around the world who help Moscow avoid existing sanctions.

These recent sanctions, taken by the US Treasury Department, are among a series of new measures announced by US President Joe Biden’s administration, Friday, aimed at supporting Kiev and deterring those providing support to Moscow, as the war enters its second year, with no signs of backing down.

Those sweeping measures aim to close loopholes in existing sanctions imposed over the past year of the war, and to weaken “key revenue-generating sectors, in order to further deteriorate the Russian economy and reduce Moscow’s ability to continue the war against Ukraine,” according to the White House. .

The latest set of Treasury sanctions target a total of 22 individuals and 83 entities, according to a press release, and were taken in coordination with the Group of Seven industrialized nations.

The US State Department will also impose sanctions on Friday, resulting in sanctions against a total of “more than 200 individuals and entities, including Russian actors, and third parties throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that support Russia’s war effort.”

In addition to the sanctions, the US Department of Commerce will, on Friday, take many measures to control exports, as it includes about 90 Russian companies and from third countries, including in China among other countries, in the list of entities involved in evading sanctions and activities supporting the Russian defense sector.

The Treasury Department’s press release said Friday’s sanctions specifically target individuals and companies located outside of Russia associated with evading sanctions, “including those relating to arms trafficking and illicit financing.”

Biden administration officials have been reviewing plans for weeks to suppress those helping Moscow circumvent sanctions in order to continue its war against Kiev.

Victoria Nuland, a senior US State Department official, detailed some of the sanctions evasion efforts Thursday, describing Russia as “importing more than 1,000% of its laptops, iPhones, and dishwashers from third countries, not because it needs laptops.” To work on them at home, but until they can take these hardware apart to get the advanced chips we’ve been denied to make more rockets.”

Among those sanctioned on Friday was Swiss-Italian businessman Walter Moretti “and his network of partners and companies,” including companies in Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, Bulgaria and Russia, who the Treasury Department said had “secretly procured sensitive Western technologies and equipment for computer hardware.” Russian intelligence and the Russian army, including hydraulic presses and arming packages.

“Moretti and his associates also purchased equipment for Russia’s nuclear weapons laboratories,” the Treasury Department added.

The latest tranche of sanctions also affected “more than 12 financial institutions in Russia, including one of the 10 largest banks in terms of asset value” – the Credit Bank of the Moscow State Joint Stock Company – and wealth management companies.

The Treasury said sanctioned individuals are known to “turn to smaller banks and wealth management firms in an attempt to evade sanctions, as Russia seeks new avenues to access the international financial system.”

The ministry also imposed sanctions on Nurmurat Kurbanov, a “Russian-Turkmen arms dealer who represents Russian and Belarusian defense companies abroad,” and Alexander Yevgenievich Udodov, a Russian businessman with ties to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, accused of illegal financial activities.