Kremlin Report: US Treasury identifies three Russia-based Armenian billionaires as “oligarchs”
Three Russia-based Armenian billionaires – Samvel Karapetyan, Danil Khachaturov and Sergey Galitsky – are among Russia’s 96 richest people the US Treasury has identified as “oligarchs.”
In a Kremlin Report the US Treasury also singled out 114 top figures from the government and state companies but underlined that the roster “is not a sanctions list.”
The first part lists a total of 114 Russian political figures, including Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, head of the Presidential Administration Anton Vaino, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, as well as all Russian ministers, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials.
Apart from Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and his deputies, the ‘Kremlin List’ features other top security officials, including head of Russian Security Service (FSB) Aleksandr Bortnikov.
The Russian business world also has its fair share, with 96 businessmen, including the heads of the biggest banks – such as Sberbank and VTB – making the list. The heads of state gas company Gazprom and state oil company Rosneft, as well as the heads of major transport companies such as Russian Railways and Aeroflot are on the list.
According to the report, people featured in the list were selected on the basis of “individuals’ official position in the case of senior political figures, or a net worth of $1 billion or more for oligarchs.”
The Treasury said, however, that “it is not a sanctions list, and the inclusion of individuals or entities in this report… does not and in no way should be interpreted to impose sanctions on those individuals or entities.”
The report adds that it does not create any other restrictions, prohibitions or limitations on dealing with such persons by either U.S. or foreign persons.
Kremlin reacted angrily. Those included on the lists “are de facto being named as enemies of the US,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call. “This could potentially do harm to the image and reputation of the businessmen and politicians on the list.”
