US, new sanctions on Russia's banks, television stations

According to a State Department statement, among those weighing sanctions are members of the board of two of the most important Russian banks, a state bank and its 10 subsidiary, a state-backed arms producer, as well as three of the state-controlled Russian television stations, providing revenue for it.

The department is also taking measures to cut access to services used by the Russian Federation and Russian elites to avoid sanctions.

Today we are further hitting Russia's economy and accessing the services and technology it needs to carry out this unprotested attack”, said Secretary of Treasury Janet L. Yellen.

“Blocking Russia's access to valuable professional services in the United States increases pressure on the Kremlin and blocks its ability to avoid sanctions imposed by the United States and our partners. We are also aiming at Putin's ability to secure revenues that enable his aggression, as well as their subjects and leaders who support his devastating actions”, were later written in the statement.

The sanctions include cutting off Western advertising broadcast on three of Russia's largest and best-known television stations, the One Russia Channel, Russia-1 and NTV, which, as Washington says, have been at the forefront of the disinformations about the Russian attack on Ukraine.

These also include preventing American accounting and consultancy firms from providing services to any Russian citizen and more restrictions in Russia's industrial sector.

The wealthy Russians have relied on US expertise to create so-called shell companies that operate in fiscal paradise, move assets and resources to other countries, and hide them from authorities worldwide, the U.S. Treasury Department statement says.

In addition, Russian companies, particularly state companies, rely on these services to run and boost their businesses, providing revenue for the Russian economy that is helping finance Vladimir Putin's war machine.

The US also imposed sanctions on the eight current and recently introduced members of the Sberbank executive board, 27 Gazprombank executives, a bank facilitating sales of Russian energy giant Gazprom, and Moscow Industrial Bank, a Russian state bank, and 10 of its subsidiarys. Moscow's Industrial Bank has facilitated transactions for Russian intelligence services, the Treasury Department said.

The US have also imposed about 2600 restrictions on visa-enabled, Russian officials and Belarus, as well as on new visa restrictions policy, on Russian officials and military authorities suspected of human rights abuse or corruption.