President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree that puts into effect the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine decision on the imposition of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) dated July 16, 2021 in relation to six individuals.
Relevant presidential decree No. 304/2021 dated July 23 was released on the presidential website.
Thus, sanctions for a period of three years are imposed against the following persons: Tatiana Bakalchuk and Vladislav Bakalchuk (co-founders of Wildberries LLC).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has approved by decree the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on the introduction of personal sanctions against Ukrainian and Russian businessmen Dmytro Firtash and Pavlo Fuks, the press service of the head of state said.
“To put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated June 18, 2021 ‘On the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions),'” the document says.
In total, on the proposal of the Security Service of Ukraine, sanctions were imposed against 538 individuals and 540 legal entities.
Corresponding decree No. 266/2021 of June 24 was published on the website of the head of state and comes into force on the day of its promulgation.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky by decree No. 264 has put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of June 18 on the extension and introduction of new sanctions against 55 Russian banks, payment systems and the so-called “central banks” from ORDLO at the suggestion of the National Bank of Ukraine.
According to the document posted on the website of the head of state, this list still includes, in particular, Bank of Moscow, Gazprom Bank, Bank Rossiya, Bank VTB, State Corporation VEB.RF, Sberbank Russia, as well as payment systems MoneyTo, BLIZKO, ANELIK, Kolibri.
With regard to banks that have subsidiaries in Ukraine, the restriction is to prevent the withdrawal of capital from the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will make every effort to find alternative markets for the sale of their goods to Ukrainian companies affected by the sanctions of Belarus, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“We certainly calculated that Belarus would want to do something in return, and we were ready for this scenario … Any Ukrainian company that suffers from Belarusian sanctions should immediately contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and we, together with the trade representative of Ukraine will make every effort to find an alternative market for selling goods of this company,” Kuleba said on the air of Savik Shuster’s Freedom of Speech (Svoboda Slova) program on Ukraine TV channel.
Earlier on Friday, Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka said that Belarus was introducing a 6-month individual licensing regime for a number of Ukrainian goods imported to that country.
The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine is imposing sanctions against 19 companies that are being held in the case of Golden Derrick, which is associated with former Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky (later renamed as East Europe Petroleum) and the seizure of their permits for subsoil use since 2020, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has been unsuccessfully seeking in the courts.
“The maximum type of sanctions that can be applied by our country, imposed against these 19 companies by the National Security and Defense Council of our country,” NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said at a briefing on Friday after the meeting.
We are talking about Novo-Dykanska area (Geo Connect LLC), Popasniansko-Samarska (Adgein Macro LLC), Pivnichno-Pereschepynska (Global Geo Invest LLC), Vilshanska (Trans Set Geo LLC), Pivdenno-Svystunkovska (Eco Gas Alliance LLC), Pivdenno-Zinkivska (Epival Energy LLC), Birkovsko-Yukhnovska (Geo Post LLC), Flerovsko-Yuvileina (Yunolit Oil LLC), Runovschynska (Profi Naft LLC), Boyarsko-Chapaivska (Geo Target LLC), Druzhyninska (Nadra Pride LLC), Hulakivska (Best Geo Tech LLC), Zuivska (Geo Stance LLC), Butovsko-Myrhorodska (Nadra West Group LLC), Liutensko-Budyschanska (Geo Force Oil LLC), Pivnichno-Fedorivska (Best Oil Company LLC), Mayorovska (Nadraprostir LLC), Davydivsko-Leliukhovska (Geo Vertikal LLC) and Kliushnykivska (Info Geo Trend LLC).
Golden Derrick received these permits for exploration and production of oil and gas in 2012-2013 out of competition, since a third of its capital belonged to the state-owned NJSC Nadra Ukrainy.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced sanctions against oligarch and former Ukrainian official Ihor Kolomoisky due to his involvement in major corruption.
“This designation is made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020. In addition to Ihor Kolomoisky, I am publicly designating the following members of Ihor Kolomoisky’s immediate family: his wife, Iryna Kolomoiska, his daughter, Andzelika Kolomoiska, and his son, Israel Zvi Kolomoisky. This action renders Ihor Kolomoisky and each of these members of his immediate family ineligible for entry into the United States,” Blinken said in a statement released by on the website of the U.S. Department of State on Friday.
Blinken said that in his official status as the head of Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine from 2014 to 2015, Kolomoisky was involved in corrupt acts that undermined rule of law and the Ukrainian public’s faith in their government’s democratic institutions and public processes, including using his political influence and official power for his personal benefit.
“While this designation is based on acts during his time in office, I also want to express concern about Kolomoisky’s current and ongoing efforts to undermine Ukraine’s democratic processes and institutions, which pose a serious threat to its future,” the secretary of state said.
“This designation reaffirms the U.S. commitment to supporting political, economic, and justice sector reforms that are key to Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic path. The United States continues to stand with all Ukrainians whose work drives reforms forward. The Department will continue to use authorities like this to promote accountability for corrupt actors in this region and globally,” Blinken said.
Aforementioned Section 7031 of the Department of state, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act gives the Secretary of State the power to deny entry to the United States of foreign government officials and their immediate family members, in respect of whom there is reliable information that they are involved in significant corruption (including related to the extraction of natural resources) or in gross violation of human rights.
An exception may be entry into the United States if it will contribute to the achievement of important goals of the U.S. law enforcement agencies or occurs within the UN Headquarters Agreement.
