Graphic shows expected sanctions on Russia.
GN41248NL

POLITIEK

Amerikaanse sancties tegen Rusland (1)

By Duncan Mil

April 15, 2021 - The Biden administration has launched long-awaited measures against Russia -- including far-reaching financial sanctions -- for disrupting the 2020 election and the hacking of U.S. networks.

Aides to President Biden say the sanctions are “seen and unseen” steps in response to the hacking, known as SolarWinds. Among measures, the U.S. will expel 10 Russian diplomats plus intelligence officials following the CIA’s assessment that Russia offered to pay bounties to Taliban militants in Afghanistan to kill American troops.

Retaliatory measures will also target the country’s sovereign debt, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move aims to restrict Russia’s ability to raise dollar-denominated government bonds by banning foreign lenders from American financial markets from June 14. Russia uses government bonds to finance its budget deficit.

The U.S. banned American investors from buying new dollar-denominated Russian debt in 2014 after the Kremlin annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula. Insiders suggest that President Biden will add rouble-denominated debt to that list. Foreign pension funds and asset managers hold around $42 billion of rouble-denominated debt.

Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR, will be formally accused of carrying out the so-called SolarWinds hack of U.S. government and corporate computer systems. The Kremlin will face unseen measures -- expanded cyber operations against the SVR. Other cyber options include revealing or freezing hidden assets held by Putin or exposing his links to oligarchs.

In March, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on seven senior members of the Russian government for poisoning Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 16/04/2021; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press
Advertisement