The United States on Friday announced a new round of sanctions against Russian individuals and organizations accused of promoting propaganda and disinformation campaigns to interfere in American elections.
The Treasury Department said in a statement that individuals and organizations raise money and spread misinformation to interfere with the US election process, and that Russian intelligence services are using it to “create or increase divisions in the country.”
One of those sanctioned and facing criminal charges has ties to an organization that has already been sanctioned for trying to influence the 2016 presidential election that brought Donald Trump to the House.
“The Kremlin has repeatedly tried to threaten and undermine our democratic processes and institutions,” Treasury Undersecretary of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson accused.
The United States will continue to work “to combat these efforts and to protect our democracy from Russian interference.”
Recent sanctions target Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov and Russia’s Anti-Globalization Movement (AGMR) and STOP-Imperialism, as well as Natalya Valerievna Burlinova and her Center for the Promotion and Development of Public Initiative Creative Diplomacy (PICREADI). of the Russian government.
According to the Treasury statement, Ionov is collaborating with Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin and the Lakhta Project, which was sanctioned for his efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, in addition to his own “bad impact agenda.”
More recently, Ionov and Prigozhin discussed “the feasibility of directly supporting a particular candidate in the 2022 U.S. gubernatorial election” while trying to spread misinformation to disrupt the electoral process.
The Justice Department also charged Ionov with “conspiracy to make American citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government.” If found guilty, he will be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison.
“The covert efforts of foreign governments to influence American elections and political groups threaten our democracy by spreading disinformation, distrust and chaos,” said Deputy Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr.
The Treasury also sanctioned Ionov’s company, Ionov Transcontinental, which operates in Iran, Venezuela and Lebanon.
Burlinova’s PICREADI, also known as Creative Diplomacy, receives funding from the Russian government and intelligence services, which accompany attendees to the annual public policy event “Meeting with Russia.”
According to the statement, the conference attracts “enthusiastic leaders” from academia, analytical centers, the media, the private sector and government agencies to facilitate dialogue.
As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests owned by individuals and entities located in the United States or owned or controlled by Americans were frozen.
source: Noticias
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