The US Treasury announced on Thursday the freezing of assets over $1 billion of a company based in the United States and controlled by the Russian oligarch and politician Suleiman Kerimov, already sanctioned by Washington.
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An investigation by US authorities "
revealed that Kerimov used a complex series of legal structures and front men to conceal his interests in Heritage Trust
", a company based in Delaware (eastern United States), says the Treasury in a press release.
Billionaire Suleiman Kerimov was sanctioned in 2018 by the United States for alleged money laundering and he is now among the Russian oligarchs sanctioned by several countries and the European Union following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Accusing Russian elites of "
hiding behind intermediaries and complex legal arrangements
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her department would use its authority to enforce sanctions against "
those who fund and profit from Russia's war in Ukraine
."
Delaware's tax laws are one of the most advantageous in the world, and this state on the American east coast, the stronghold of President Joe Biden, is home to many foreign companies.
In its statement, the US Treasury also claims that a nephew of Suleiman Kerimov, Ruslan Gadjiev, represents one of the beneficiaries of Heritage Trust.
Elected to the Russian parliament, Ruslan Gadjiev had already been under US sanctions since March, and his involvement in the company "
provides a separate and independent reason
" for this freeze, Washington says.
In early June, a Fijian court authorized the surrender to the United States of the superyacht Amadea, linked to Suleiman Kerimov.
The boat, worth some $300 million, was seized by Fiji at Washington's request.