U.S. imposes new sanctions on individuals tied to theft of Ukrainian grain from occupied territories

The U.S. Department of the Treasury reported the information.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on a network of individuals and entities. All of them are connected to the theft of Ukrainian grain from temporarily occupied territories. However, the official reason for the sanctions is counterterrorism, as these individuals assisted the Houthis in purchasing tens of millions of dollars’ worth of goods, including weapons and sensitive technologies.

Sanctions were imposed on individuals linked to Iranian financier Sa’id al-Jamal, who leads a network of front companies and vessels. Among those sanctioned are the captains of the ship Theseus (also known as Zafar), Belyakov and Vidanov, who were involved in transporting Ukrainian grain from occupied Crimea.

“The Houthis continue to rely on Sa’id al-Jamal and his network to acquire critical goods to support the group’s terrorist military machine,” commented U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. This was reported by European Pravda.

Sanctions were also imposed on Russian citizens of Afghan origin, Ushang and Sohrab Ghairat, founders of the companies Sky Frame and Kolibri Group.

Also added to the sanctions list is Katerina Rotenberg, wife of Russian billionaire Boris Rotenberg. She had already been sanctioned in March 2022, but the U.S. Treasury did not specify the reason for her re-inclusion.

• A new bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate proposing sanctions against Russia, which may include a 500% tariff on imports from countries that continue to purchase Russian oil and other resources.