US sanctions 4 Russians tied to Alfa Group investment conglomerate

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US imposed new sanctions Friday on four Russian tycoons linked to one of the financial conglomerates in the world, accusing them of helping to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.

The US now joins Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand and the UK in blacklisting Petr Olegovich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev who have served on Alfa Group's board.

“Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Department Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

“Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," he added.

Alfa Group owns assets across a wide swathe of Russian industries, including banking, energy and retail.

Aven serves as the group's chairman of the board while Fridman is its founder, according to the Treasury Department. Khan and Kuzmichev are board members.

In addition to the men, the US sanctioned the Russian Association of Employers and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), which the Treasury said is a tech company that has helped Russia respond to international sanctions.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the RSPP "has promoted import substitution and convened meetings to promote responses to sanctions."

"The United States will continue to take all appropriate action to hold accountable those who enable and profit from Russia’s war against Ukraine," he said.