Kremlin Threatens to take retaliatory measures after the authorities arrested Artyom Os, the son of a high-ranking Russian official, at the request of the United States, for allegedly participating in a scheme to evade sanctions and money laundering.
Wass, who was detained in Milan, was charged with a scheme to obtain illegally US military technology Punish Venezuelan oil for subsidies Russia’s war effort in UkraineAccording to the accusations revealed by the US Department of Justice this week.
“We categorically oppose this and condemn the practice of these types of arrests against Russian citizens,” a Kremlin spokesman said. Dmitriy Peskov He said.
The father of the United States, the governor of Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Krai, Alexander Os, indicated that the arrest was politically motivated, according to the British newspaper The Guardian. tast.
Another Russian government spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said Moscow would not leave the US search for the Russians “unanswered” and accused the United States of “taking hostages” for political purposes,” TASS reported.
The United States was not the only one accused in the scheme of money laundering and smuggling. The USS co-owned a trading company called Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH (NDA GmbH) which it allegedly used with the co-conspirators as a front for shipping US defense technology to Russia.
The US and the conspirators are accused of using NDA GmbH to ship advanced semiconductors and microprocessors to combat aircraft, missile systems, smart munitions, radar and satellites in Russia — some of which have been found in weapons used in the war in Ukraine.
“Some of the same electronic components obtained through a criminal scheme were found in Russian weapons platforms captured on the battlefield in Ukraine,” the Justice Department said in an announcement, adding that the accused had developed a “complex web” of schemes that “undermined security.” economic stability and rule of law around the world.”
The group of conspiring conspirators also allegedly shipped hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela to Russian and Chinese entities, including at least one few who are subject to sanctions.
The 12-count indictment charged five Russian citizens in total, including Yuri Orikhov, Svetlana Kozorgacheva, Timofei Telegin, and Sergey Tulyakov. Juan Fernando Serrano Pons and Juan Carlos Soto have also been accused of making illegal oil deals for the Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
One of the conspirators openly admitted that NDA GmbH was working for the sanctioned oligarchy, according to court documents.
“he is [the oligarch] “He is also subject to sanctions,” Orekhov said. “That’s why we [are] Acting from this company [NDA GmbH]. as an interface.
Russia has long helped Venezuela evade sanctions around the world. But the latest accusations expose the multiple layers of sanctions the United States has imposed on both Russia and Venezuela.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Venezuela for more than 15 years, and in recent years has imposed restrictions on the Venezuelan state oil company and other entities in an effort to pressure Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro from power.
The sanctions on Russian banks in recent months are likely, which the United States and other countries have imposed in an attempt to isolate Moscow on the world stage while it attacks Ukraine. It harms Venezuela’s access to its assets, according to the Congressional Research Service. But Oil price hike From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to be leading to a semblance of Venezuela’s economic recovery, according to CRS.
The KleptoCapture Task Force, the Justice Department group established earlier this year with the goal of punishing Russia for the war in Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia’s oligarchy, announced the charges along with other Justice Department entities.
“Eliminating export control evasion on military technology is among the task force’s highest priorities,” Andrew Adams, director of the KleptoCapture task force, said in a statement. “Networks of shell companies, cryptocurrency, and an international network of fraudsters failed to protect Orekhov and his associates from arrest by US law enforcement.”
It is not clear what Russia will do in response to the US arrest.
White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre, when asked on Thursday whether Oss’ arrest was at all related to negotiations to release Britney Grenier from Russia, declined to speculate.
“The president is ready … to make extraordinary efforts to bring Americans home,” Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing with reporters.
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