Tag: Sanctions

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U.S. Wrestles With Taliban Sanctions as Afghan Disaster Looms

U.S. Wrestles With Taliban Sanctions as Afghan Crisis Looms

WASHINGTON – America’s war in Afghanistan is over, but the Taliban’s finances are just beginning.

The fate of billions of dollars in international reserves and foreign aid represents its own politically and legally strained choices as the world grapples with what Afghanistan will look like under Taliban rule. The stake is extraordinarily high as millions of Afghans face the prospect of collateral damage from the stranglehold of the Taliban’s sanctions, which are still in place, an economy the United States has tried for two decades support, threatens to sink.

Faced with an impending humanitarian crisis, the Biden government is examining how this web of sanctions can be tailored so that aid can continue to reach the Afghan people. The challenge is to keep donor money flowing without further enriching the Taliban, who see the US as a terrorist organization. Experts say that such a situation, in which a group believed to be terrorists takes over an entire country, is unprecedented and represents a complex test for the US sanctions program.

“This is a new world,” said Adam M. Smith, a senior sanctions officer in the Obama administration’s Treasury. “I cannot imagine a case in which an already named terrorist group has taken power over an entire country.”

He said that the Treasury Department would soon have to decide what exemptions or licenses it would grant for certain types of transactions. It must also decide whether all of Afghanistan or just the Taliban leadership is under sanctions so that the world knows how to deal with the government.

“We have to find a way to get goods and services into Afghanistan or 30 million Afghans will have side effects here and it will be a disaster,” said Smith.

When the Taliban came to power last month, the United States acted quickly to maintain as much influence as possible. It blocked its access to $ 9.5 billion in international reserve funds and put pressure on the International Monetary Fund to suspend distribution of more than $ 400 million in currency reserves.

A Treasury Department official said the United States would not ease sanctions pressures on Taliban leaders or significant restrictions on their access to the international financial system. The militant group continues to be classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Group, and it is also subject to United Nations sanctions that the United States and other countries must enforce.

But the desire to demonstrate some flexibility is already evident. Last week, the Ministry of Finance signaled to humanitarian organizations that it was taking steps to enable relief work to continue for the benefit of the Afghan people. On August 25, the agency issued a special license, similar to the one it has issued in countries such as Syria and Venezuela, to enable the delivery of food, shelter, medicines and medical services to Afghanistan.

There are also signs that the financial flows into the country, which have been frozen for two weeks, are resuming.

Financial institutions in the United States have been waiting for the Biden administration to clarify whether Afghanistan’s property is considered Taliban property, banking industry officials said. Banks fear they could violate US sanctions if they allow transactions with the country.

Updated

9/2/2021, 5:49 p.m. ET

However, Western Union said Thursday that it would resume money transfer services to Afghanistan so its customers can send money to loved ones and that it would waive fees for transfers into the country for two weeks. A company spokeswoman said she made the decision after the US government said it allowed money transfers to Afghanistan.

An official from the Treasury Department confirmed that the agency had contacted financial institutions to inform them that personal transfers were allowed.

The Treasury Department has experience trying to service people ruled by enemy governments and has issued humanitarian aid licenses to arrive at such locations. In June, it issued licenses to send relief supplies to fight the coronavirus to Iran, Syria and Venezuela.

However, a terrorist group presents its own challenges and it will not be easy to keep aid out of the hands of the Taliban, especially if they control the country. The group is notorious for using exorbitant taxes to steal wealth from Afghan citizens, and an influx of food or medicine from abroad would be an opportunity to confiscate and sell them to raise funds. Harsh sanctions could also force the Taliban to rely even more heavily on illegal finances and drug trafficking, despite their public opposition to such practices.

“Due to the increased risk that the Taliban takeover entails, the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing must be stepped up,” said Alex Zerden, from 2018 to 2019 financial attaché of the Treasury Department at the US embassy in Kabul.

Dealing with the situation in Afghanistan is becoming more complex as the Treasury Department carries out a broader review of its sanctions program. Critics have accused the previous administration of arbitrarily imposing sanctions and often undermining their effectiveness. The Biden government has stated that it is not conducting intelligence reviews of certain sanctions, but rather is focusing on ways to modernize the practice so that it is more effective.

Understanding the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

Map 1 of 6

Who are the Taliban? The Taliban emerged in 1994 amid the unrest following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including flogging, amputation and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here is more about their genesis and track record as rulers.

Who are the Taliban leaders? These are the top leaders of the Taliban, men who for years have been on the run, in hiding, in prison and dodging American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to rule, including whether they will be as tolerant as they say they are. A spokesman told the Times that the group wanted to forget their past but had some restrictions.

The Treasury Department did not offer a schedule for this review. It’s taking place while Senate Republicans have blocked two of President Biden’s nominations for top sanctions positions at the Treasury, Brian E. Nelson and Elizabeth Rosenberg. Although the Biden administration has been less vocal than the Trump administration about the application of sanctions, it is still well on its way to making about 1,000 nominations this year, according to the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Any easing of sanctions for the Taliban could come at a political price.

Senators Marco Rubio from Florida and Rob Portman from Ohio, both Republicans, called on Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Monday to keep all internationally held Afghan assets out of the Taliban.

“The Taliban are sponsors of terrorism and have close ties to al-Qaeda, and therefore cannot be trusted to distribute money to the Afghan people who are in dire need and will instead use all means to actively set priorities that are hostile to US interests. “They wrote in a letter. “We can and should work to create alternative means of supporting the Afghan people, but we must not allow resources to be used to strengthen a repressive Taliban regime.”

Khalid Payenda, who resigned as Afghan finance minister last month, said Thursday during an event at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service that the Taliban appear to be struggling to resume government financial operations and that the country is about to run out of money would. He said the world must find ways to provide economic support to the people of Afghanistan without giving the Taliban the money and that sanctions must be maintained as leverage.

“I think it would be catastrophic to give full access to the reserves,” said Payenda, accusing the Taliban of still having links with al Qaeda. “The Taliban know that they cannot run a government without the finances and technical assistance of other countries.”

The White House made it clear this week that it will not let go of its economic influence on the Taliban prematurely. Biden government officials insisted that such interference is important to ensure the Taliban honor their pledges to allow Americans, permanent residents and Afghan citizens to leave the country on special immigrant visas.

“When we talk about Afghan reserves, Afghan access to the banking system, Afghan access to any kind of basic operation of the economy, remember that the United States has been basically the steward of them for the past 20 years. “Jake Sullivan, the White House national security advisor, told CNN.

He argued that the Taliban are now somewhat dependent on the United States, adding, “They understand the extent to which their ability to provide their citizens with everything needed for a functioning economy depends on the international community. It’s up to the United States. “

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Politics

Treasury slaps sanctions on Cuban police power and its leaders over crackdown on protests

Treasury slaps sanctions on Cuban police force and its leaders over crackdown on protests

A woman holds a sign reading “America Open Your Eyes” as people wave Cuban and US flags during a Freedom Rally showing support for Cubans demonstrating against their government, at Freedom Tower in Miami, on July 17, 2021. – Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel on July 17, denounced what he said was a false narrative over unrest on the Caribbean island, as the Communist regime vigorously pushed back against suggestions of historically widespread discontent. (Photo by Eva Marie UZCATEGUI / AFP) (Photo by EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)

EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI | AFP | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration imposed another round of sanctions on Cuba’s police force and its leaders for the violent suppression of peaceful protests that broke out on the island more than two weeks ago.

The Treasury sanctions designate Cuban police director Oscar Callejas Valcarce and his deputy, Eddy Sierra Arias, as well as the island’s police force.

“The Treasury Department will continue to designate and call out by name those who facilitate the Cuban regime’s involvement in serious human rights abuse,” wrote Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a statement announcing the sanctions.

“Today’s action serves to further hold accountable those responsible for suppressing the Cuban people’s calls for freedom and respect for human rights,” the statement added.

Last week, Washington slapped sanctions on Cuba’s defense minister and the communist nation’s special forces brigade for the suppression of peaceful protests that broke out on the island.

The U.S. sanctions were coupled with a warning that there would be more to come if the Cuban government did not rectify the situation.

“This is just the beginning – the United States will continue to sanction individuals responsible for oppression of the Cuban people,” President Joe Biden said in a July 22 statement.

Earlier this month, thousands of protestors filled the streets over frustrations with a crippled economy hit by food and power shortages.

The rare protests, the largest the communist country has seen since the 1990s, come as the government struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic, pushing the island’s fragile health-care system to the brink.

Protesters gather in front of the Versailles restaurant to show support for the people in Cuba who have taken to the streets there to protest on July 11, 2021 in Miami, Florida.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Cuban President Diaz-Canel Bermudez said his regime was “prepared to do anything” to quell the protests, according to a report from The Washington Post.

“We will be battling in the streets,” he said, adding that the United States is in part to blame for the widespread discontent in Cuba.

A day later, he appeared alongside members of his government and blamed U.S. trade sanctions for hampering Cuba’s growth.

Reacting to the Cuban president’s comments, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters last week that the United States was not to blame for the laundry list of issues plaguing Havana.

Blinken said Cubans were “tired of the mismanagement of the Cuban economy, tired of the lack of adequate food and, of course, an adequate response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“That is what we are hearing and seeing in Cuba, and that is a reflection of the Cuban people, not of the United States or any other outside actor,” Blinken said.

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Politics

China sanctions Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross

China sanctions Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross

China said Friday it had sanctioned seven people, including former Trump Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross, in response to US penalties imposed on Chinese officials for Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.

The mutual sanctions were imposed under the new Chinese anti-foreign sanctions law passed in June. The sanctions are in response to the recent US warning to businesses about the risks of doing business in Hong Kong.

They also came days before Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is due to visit China, making her the most senior US official to visit China during the Biden administration.

In addition to Ross, Carolyn Bartholomew, Chair of the US-China Economic Security Review Commission, was sanctioned; Jonathan Stivers, former Executive Commissioner of the Executive Committee for China; and Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch.

DoYun Kim from the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs were also sanctioned; Adam Joseph King, Senior Program Manager of the International Republican Institute and the Hong Kong Democratic Council.

Ross, a billionaire businessman and investor, did business in China. As Minister of Commerce, he was one of the faces of former President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

“I would like to reiterate that Hong Kong is China’s Special Administrative Region and its affairs are an integral part of China’s internal affairs,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a statement. “Any attempt by outside forces to interfere in Hong Kong affairs would be as futile as an ant trying to shake a large tree.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press conference Friday that the US is aware of China’s latest sanctions.

“We will not be deterred by these measures and remain determined to implement all relevant US sanctions against the authorities,” said Psaki at the briefing. “These actions are the latest example of how Beijing is punishing individuals, businesses and civil society organizations for sending political signals and highlighting the deteriorating investment climate and increasing political risks in the PRC.”

Psaki said it was following China’s “baseless sanctions” of two commissioners from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in March, 28 US officials in January, and sanctions against US officials and organizations in July 2020.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Lijian said Friday that China “strongly opposes and strongly condemns” the Biden government’s release of the Hong Kong Business Advisory last week, which warns US firms are exposed to multiple risks posed by China’s extensive national security law in Hong Kong develop.

“These acts seriously violate international law and basic norms of international relations, and severely interfere with China’s internal affairs,” Lijian said in the statement.

China’s national security law was passed and condemned by Washington in June 2020 for aiming to restrict Hong Kong’s autonomy and banning critical literature by the Chinese Communist Party.

A guidebook published by the Biden administration jointly by the ministries for state, finance, trade and homeland security states that companies are exposed to the risk of electronic surveillance without guarantee, the disclosure of data to authorities and “limited access to information”.

It also sanctioned several Chinese officials with the Beijing Liaison Office in Hong Kong for restricting autonomy on the territory.

“Beijing has damaged Hong Kong’s reputation for accountable, transparent governance and respect for individual freedoms and has broken its promise to leave Hong Kong’s high level of autonomy unchanged for 50 years,” Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said in a statement on the advisory.

The Hong Kong warning came days after the Biden government issued a similar recommendation for businesses with businesses and operations in Xinjiang province, where there is growing evidence that the Chinese government has committed genocide and other human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities committed.

Relations between Beijing and Washington became even more strained under the Trump administration, sparking a trade war and working to ban Chinese tech companies from doing business in the United States

Biden previously said his approach would be different from that of his predecessor, saying he would work closely with allies to push back on Beijing.

The Chinese sanctions against Ross came shortly after the Justice Department refused to prosecute him for allegedly misleading Congress on census citizenship issues.

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Politics

U.S. Sanctions Cuba for Crackdowns on Protesters

U.S. Sanctions Cuba for Crackdowns on Protesters

The Secretary of State drew attention to police violence in the United States, adding: “Rather, the Magnitsky Global Act on Systematic Repression and Police Brutality, which killed 1,021 people in 2020, should apply.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the sanctions as a series of responses Mr Biden would use to help Cubans cope with government repression and a growing humanitarian crisis. She said that “addressing this moment was a priority for management”.

As Vice President during the Obama administration, Mr. Biden oversaw policies that restored full diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time in more than half a century. But he has taken a tougher stance as President, a position that has generally been warmly welcomed by members of Congress – including some Democrats who have found themselves in the uncomfortable position of sided with President Donald J. Trump’s policies of containment Communist government of Cuba.

Cubans have become increasingly frustrated with their government in the face of an economic crisis that has spanned food shortages, power outages, skyrocketing inflation and a growing number of Covid-19 deaths. For its part, the Cuban government blamed the United States for a trade embargo and last week accused American officials of fueling the unrest.

“Our message could not be clearer: The US is on the side of the Cuban people and there will be consequences for those who have blood on their hands,” said Senator Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Twitter. Mr. Biden “is absolutely right to hold the Cuban regime accountable for using force to crush the hopes and dreams of Cubans.”

The State Department is also considering allowing people in the United States to send money to relatives and friends in Cuba through a referral process that has been exploited in previous cases by government officials who confiscated some of the funds. Ministry spokesman Ned Price said this week that the Biden government is looking at ways to get the money “straight into the hands of the Cuban people.”

In addition, Price said the department could increase the number of American diplomats at the U.S. embassy in Havana, where the Trump administration kept staff numbers to the bare minimum. It is not clear when or if the Biden government will move forward on both fronts.

Ernesto Londoño and Frances Robles contributed to the coverage.

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World News

U.S. to Reimpose Sanctions on Belarus Over Pressured Airplane Touchdown

U.S. to Reimpose Sanctions on Belarus Over Forced Plane Landing

The Biden government said late Friday that it would impose economic sanctions on certain state-owned companies in Belarus, the latest diplomatic backlash by a Western government after the country’s authoritarian leader knocked down a European passenger jet last weekend.

The plane, a Ryanair Boeing 737 flying from Greece to Lithuania, was flying through Belarusian airspace on Sunday when it was diverted and forced to land in the capital Minsk with a fighter escort. Roman Protasevich, a Belarusian opposition journalist who lived in exile abroad, was arrested with his girlfriend after the plane landed.

Belarusian President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, a brutal and eccentric strong man, has alleged that he diverted the plane because of a bomb threat sent by email in order not to arrest Mr. Protasevich. However, a Swiss email provider said that the email quoted by the Belarusian authorities was sent after the plane had already been diverted.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday evening that sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned companies that had been lifted by the Treasury Department would be reinstated on June 3.

The United States, together with the European Union and other allies, is developing a list of sanctions against members of Mr. Lukashenko’s government linked to “ongoing human rights violations and corruption, the 2020 election fraud and the events of May 23”, added her.

The allegation of electoral fraud referred to last summer when Mr. Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, claimed to have won 80 percent of the vote in a sham election. His claim led to mass demonstrations where the police cracked down on them.

The spokesman for the government of Mr. Lukashenko could not be reached immediately on Saturday for a statement.

Mr Protasevich, the imprisoned journalist, co-founded a telegram channel that is a popular opposition center in Belarus and was used to mobilize protests last year. Mr Biden has called for the 26-year-old’s release, stating that his arrest and a video he recently shot while in state custody – apparently under duress – were “shameful attacks on both political disagreement and freedom of the press. ”

In addition to the sanctions announced on Friday, the United States will also suspend the application of an aviation agreement with Belarus for 2019 and recently advised American citizens not to travel to the country, Ms Psaki said in the statement.

“We are taking these measures together with our partners and allies to hold the regime accountable for its actions and to demonstrate our commitment to the aspirations of the Belarusian people,” she said.

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Biden administration sanctions Russia for cyberattacks, election interference

Biden administration sanctions Russia for cyberattacks, election interference

President Joe Biden (L) and President Vladimir Putin.

Getty Images

The Biden government on Thursday imposed a series of new sanctions on Moscow for alleged interference in the 2020 elections, a colossal cyberattack against US government and corporate networks, illegal annexation and occupation of Crimea, and human rights violations.

“Today the US Treasury Department (OFAC) took extensive action against 16 companies and 16 people who, on the orders of the leadership of the Russian government, tried to influence the US presidential election in 2020,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.

It also announced sanctions against five people and three organizations related to Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula and human rights violations.

In addition to the extensive sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department, the State Department announced that it would expel ten officials from Russia’s diplomatic mission in the United States.

The sanctions come after President Joe Biden’s call this week with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and as a Russian force near the Ukrainian border.

Washington officially accused Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) – its top spy agency – of being behind the SolarWinds cyberattack published late last year, which Microsoft President Brad Smith called “the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen.” has been designated.

“The US intelligence community has great confidence in their assessment of the attribution,” the Treasury Department press release said. In the attack, hackers gained access to the software, which was used by thousands of government agencies and companies.

The penalties are also in response to a March report by the U.S. intelligence director that Putin completed authorized attempts to meddle in the 2020 election on behalf of former President Donald Trump.

The Russian government denies all allegations.

Biden also signed an executive order on Thursday that will allow Washington to sanction any sector of Moscow’s economy, greatly expanding the scope of sanctions authorities.

Under this new approval, U.S. financial institutions will be banned from conducting transactions in the primary market for new ruble or non-ruble bonds issued after June 14th.

“Removing US investors from the primary market creates a broader chill effect,” said a senior administrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“What you see is that Russia’s borrowing costs are rising, you see that there is capital flight and you see that the currency is weakening at the same time. And you know that this is having an impact on Russia’s growth rate and an impact on Russia’s inflation rate Has.” Official added.

“The president has signed this sweeping new authority to counter the persistent and growing vicious behavior of Russia,” Finance Minister Janet Yellen said in a statement welcoming the move.

“The Treasury Department is using this new authority to impose costs on the Russian government for its unacceptable behavior, including restricting Russia’s ability to fund its activities and targeting Russia’s malicious and disruptive cyber capabilities,” she added.

One of the people named in the new actions is Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian agent with ties to former Trump campaign leader Paul Manafort, who was convicted in the special investigation of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

The FBI is offering $ 250,000 for information leading to the arrest of Kilimnik, who is believed to be in Russia. Moscow prohibits extradition of a Russian citizen to any country.

Another senior administration official who refused to be named said the White House still hopes for a “stable and predictable relationship” with Russia.

“We also want to make it clear that we do not wish to be in an escalation cycle with Russia. We intend that these responses be proportionate and tailored to the specific past activities, pathways and actions that Russia has taken,” he said Officer.

Administrative officials refused to speculate about possible retaliatory measures Moscow would take following the sweeping sanctions.

US-Russia relations deteriorating

Taking a tougher stance on Russia was one of Biden’s foreign policy election promises. The measures announced on Thursday join a number of past measures: the Obama administration’s debt financing restrictions on large Russian companies like Rosneft and the Trump administration’s ban on US companies buying foreign currency government bonds.

“Today’s US sanctions continue the general trend of deterioration in relations since the annexation of Crimea,” Maximilian Hess, head of political risk at London-based consultancy Hawthorn Advisors, told CNBC.

“The bulk” of these sanctions, he said, “is the Russian government’s blocking of US companies from the primary market in ruble-denominated debt.”

Hess noted, however, that this “will not have much of an impact, especially given Russia’s manageable debt burden”.

For Timothy Ash, Senior Emerging Markets Strategist at Bluebay Asset Management, the measures are anything but tough.

“It’s like boys, come on, you’ve got to do better,” Ash wrote in a note following the announcement.

“Sovereign Primary still allows US companies to hold this debt. So US institutions cannot buy Russian government bonds on the primary issue, but can get their Russian bank friends to buy them for them in the primary, give them a fee and them then in the secondary. “

The ruble reduced some of its losses against the greenback on Thursday shortly after the sanction news, trading at 76.3025 against the dollar at 4:00 p.m. local time, compared to 77.0718 just before the details of the sanctions were released.

Build up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border

Ukrainian soldiers work with Russia-backed separatists near Lysychansk, Lugansk region, on their tank near the front line on April 7, 2021.

Photo by STR / AFP via Getty Images

Tuesday’s Biden-Putin call, at least the second between the two men since Biden took office in January, comes as the United States and other western countries tire of Russia’s growing military build-up on the border with Ukraine, where there are dozens has amassed thousands of troops and tanks.

“We are now seeing the largest concentration of Russian armed forces on the borders of Ukraine since 2014,” said Foreign Minister Antony Blinken on Tuesday after visiting the NATO headquarters in Brussels. “This is a deep concern not only for Ukraine, but also for the US.”

Regional experts say this move could be an attempt to test Biden’s skills and intimidate Ukraine. The more pessimistic outlook suggests that the goal is to incite Ukraine into renewed conflict.

In a telephone conversation with Putin, Biden emphasized “the unwavering commitment of the United States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” according to a reading by the White House.

Biden suggested holding a summit somewhere outside the US and Russia “to discuss the full range of problems the countries are facing”.

The Kremlin said in a statement later Tuesday that Biden had “suggested considering the possibility of holding a face-to-face summit in the foreseeable future.”

– Natasha Turak from Dubai contributed to this story, and Amanda Macias from Washington, DC

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the description of the Hawthorn Advisors.

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Business

Sanctions on Russian Debt Are Known as a ‘First Salvo’ That Sends a Message

Sanctions on Russian Debt Are Called a ‘First Salvo’ That Sends a Message

Biden’s administration on Thursday prevented American banks from buying newly issued Russian government bonds, signaling the use of a key weapon in Washington’s intensified conflict with Moscow and threatening Russia’s access to international finance.

The debt limit was part of new measures against Russia, primarily including sanctions against dozens of companies and individuals, as well as the expulsion of 10 diplomats from the Russian embassy in Washington. The moves are aimed at taking advantage of the weak Russian economy to pressure Moscow to ease its campaign to disrupt US political life and threaten Ukraine. The restrictions on debt purchases that apply to bonds issued by the Russian government after June 14 could increase the cost of borrowing in the Russian economy and limit investment and economic growth.

This threat remains tiny for the time being. According to the Russian Central Bank, Russian public debt held outside the country is around $ 41 billion – a relative amount in the world economy. By comparison, the US Treasury Department spent a total of US $ 274 billion in national debt in the first three months of this year alone.

The Russian government sells most of its debt domestically and finances much of its operations by selling energy. According to Oxford Economics in London, American investors hold only 7 percent of Russia’s ruble-denominated national debt.

As a symbolic step, experts say, the measures outlined by the Biden government signal its willingness to take a step-by-step approach that could lead to tougher measures, such as tightening Russia’s access to capital markets if Moscow does not moderate its activities.

“This step may not and should not be considered the final step in the process,” said Adnan Mazarei, a former International Monetary Fund official and now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “The day of arbitrary sanctions policy may be over. It will be a process that is much more subject to calibration. “

By marginally threatening Russia’s access to global markets, the Biden administration appears to be implementing a strategy similar to the United States’ strategy of isolating Iran. Successive American governments have attempted to pressure Iran to forego nuclear capacity development and to withdraw from supporting the Middle East insurgents by curtailing their links to the global financial system.

In business today

Updated

April 15, 2021, 6:56 p.m. ET

But Russia would be a far more difficult isolating power.

The United States and its allies in Europe are generally aligned in their objectives with Iran, although European business interests seek access to the potentially huge Iranian market. In contrast, Russia is an important supplier of energy to all of Western Europe. Russia is on the doorstep of the region and allows the European heads of state and government – especially Germany – to reject major conflicts.

Restricting Russia’s access to international bond markets amounts to “nibbling on the edges,” said Simon Miles, a Russia expert at Duke University. A major hit would threaten the Russian natural gas market in Western Europe.

Previous sanctions have denied Russia access to certain types of food and technology. The latest package targets Russia’s basic economic health as a pressure point.

“The signs are that the Biden government wants to make it hurt a little more,” said James Nixey, director of the Russia-Eurasia program at Chatham House, a research facility in London. “This is just a first volley.”

The United States ultimately separated Iran from the global financial system, which Washington could do since the American dollar is the world’s reserve currency, the medium of exchange for transactions around the world. Every bank around the world doing business for Iran risked being cut off from the international payments network and denied access to dollars.

Russia has very limited borrowing from abroad as it has greatly reduced its deficits following the sanctions imposed following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“We have seen a period of austerity and austerity since that sanctions shock,” said Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, a trade association that represents international banks. “You have prepared.”

Thursday’s Russian Debt Ordinance only applies to American financial institutions, but it could prompt multinational corporations outside the U.S. to recalculate the risks of transactions with the Russian government.

“It’ll get you noticed if you want,” said Mr. Nixey. “Every company that plays a significant role in Russia listens to this very, very carefully, wondering if it’s a good idea, if it’s a good idea in terms of reputation or political risk, if it’s theirs Business of the same volume as it is supposed to continue. “

Andrew E. Kramer contributed to reporting from Moscow.

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Politics

White Home Warns Russia on Bounties, however Stops Wanting Sanctions

White House Warns Russia on Bounties, but Stops Short of Sanctions

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration warned the Kremlin Thursday of the CIA’s conclusion that Russia had covertly offered militants payments to encourage more killings of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan, and issued the diplomatic admonition than Moscow over sanctions Hacking and electoral influence.

However, the government has stopped sanctioning Russian officials for the alleged bounties, clarifying that the available evidence of what happened – especially what Afghan detainees told the interrogators – still does not definitively prove that Russia paid for the reward of attacks paid.

The intelligence community, a senior government official told reporters, “rates with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers have attempted to encourage Taliban attacks against US and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and possibly earlier, including through financial incentives and compensation. “

The New York Times first reported the existence of the CIA’s assessment last summer and that the National Security Council had been running an inter-agent process to develop a range of response options – but those months had passed and the Trump White House had not approved a response. not even a diplomatic protest.

The Times also reported that the available evidence for this assessment centered on what detainees believed to be part of a Taliban-affiliated criminal-militant network reported to the interrogators, along with suspicious travel patterns and financial transfers that the CIA medium placed confidence in his conclusion.

However, it was also reported that the National Security Agency, which focuses on electronic surveillance, placed less confidence in the assessment, citing the lack of electronic listening devices for smoke guns. Analysts from two other consulted agencies, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Defense Intelligence Agency, are also believed to have split, the former supporting the CIA and the latter supporting the National Security Agency.

Former intelligence officials, including in testimony on the subject before Congress, have stated that in the murky world of intelligence, it is rare to have evidence in the courtroom without a reasonable doubt about what an adversary is doing in secret.

President Biden’s administration re-examining the available evidence had uncovered nothing new and significant that could bring more clarity to this murky intelligence portrait, leaving disagreement over the level of confidence, an official familiar with internal reasoning said.

The Biden official’s statement to reporters was consistent with this report.

Intelligence agencies, said the official, “have little to moderate confidence in this verdict, also because of the reporting of detainees and the challenging operating environment in Afghanistan.”

“Our conclusion,” the official continued, “is based on information and evidence of links between criminal agents in Afghanistan and elements of the Russian government.”

The officer did not explain. One problem with the evidence available, however, The Times reported last year, was that the leader of the suspected criminal-militant network believed to have interacted directly with Russian intelligence officials, Rahmatullah Azizi, fled to Russia – possibly connected to a Russian spy agency using a passport.

The new Washington

Updated

April 15, 2021, 6:10 p.m. ET

As a result, the detainees who told the interrogators what they had been told about the alleged agreement were not in the room for talks with Russian intelligence officials themselves. Even without electronic interception, there was a sample of evidence that corresponded to the assessment of the CIA, but no explicit eyewitness account of the interactions.

The Russian government has denied having covertly offered or paid bounties to fuel attacks on American and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The public disclosure of the CIA’s assessment – and months of inactivity by the White House in response – sparked bipartisan turmoil in Congress. President Donald J. Trump defended the inaction, calling the coverage a “joke”. His White House denied it had been reported and tried to dismiss the intelligence service rating as too weak to be taken seriously.

In fact, it was included in his written briefing at the end of February 2020 and was more widely disseminated to the intelligence community in early May.

However, it was also true that analysts from the CIA’s National Security Agency disagreed on how much confidence should be placed in the agency’s conclusion, based on the incomplete set of evidence available. The Trump administration has played this split.

Michael J. Morell, a former acting CIA director, denied a White House testimony before Congress, suggesting that such an assessment must be unanimously supported by intelligence agencies in order to be taken seriously.

In previous administrations, he said last July, officials would have immediately told both the president and the congressmen of this ruling and any disagreement if the intelligence services had evaluated such information at any level of confidence. If the confidence level were low, an administration would seek more information before acting, while a medium or high confidence rating would most likely result in a response.

“You never have certainty in intelligence,” added Mr. Morell.

Mr Trump never addressed the issue of bounty education in his talks with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. But after the CIA’s assessment was made public, senior military and diplomatic officials, including then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, warned their colleagues.

“If the Russians offer money to kill Americans or other Westerners, there will be an enormous price. I shared that with Foreign Minister Lavrov, ”said Pompeo during a trip to the Czech Republic in August. “I know our military has also spoken to their senior leaders. We won’t bear that. We will not tolerate that. “

In testimony to Congress and in other statements, senior Pentagon officials said being trapped between a desire not to tighten the White House and a desire not to be indifferent to the safety of the troops, would be indignant when the CIA assessment would be correct, but also hadn’t seen definitive evidence.

“It is not closed because we never complete investigations that involve threats or potential threats to US forces,” said General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., head of Pentagon Central Command late last year when he asked about the status of the Investigation was asked. “We’re looking at it very carefully.”

Meanwhile, as a presidential candidate, Mr Biden attacked Mr Trump for failing to counter the CIA assessment, portraying it as part of a strange pattern of respect that Mr Trump had shown towards Russia. Mr Biden mentioned the matter in his speech accepting the Democratic nomination and brought it up in his first call as President to Mr Putin.

While the sanctions imposed on Thursday were based on suspected Russian misdeeds other than suspected bounties, the senior administration official said that diplomatic action on the information available “is a burden on the Russian government to explain its actions and take action to address this disruption address patterns of behavior. “

The official added: “We cannot and will not accept our staff’s orientation in this way.”

Julian E. Barnes and Eric Schmitt contributed to the coverage.

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World News

China sanctions U.S. spiritual freedom officers, Canadian member of parliament

China sanctions U.S. religious freedom officials, Canadian member of parliament

A masked protester holds a US flag during a protest against China’s human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang Province and calls on the US government to crack down on Beijing on April 6, 2019 in Washington, USA.

Yasin Ozturk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

China has imposed sanctions on two US religious rights officials, a Canadian MP and a subcommittee on human rights, in Canada’s lower house, according to a statement released by the Chinese State Department on Saturday.

The sanctions are the latest escalation in a growing dispute between Western nations and Beijing over the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in China, particularly in Xinjiang Province.

The Chinese sanctions target the chairman and vice chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Gayle Manchin and Tony Perkins. USCIRF has condemned China’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang and approved recent US sanctions against Chinese officials.

Beijing also targeted Canadian MP Michael Chong, who is vice chairman of the House of Common’s Foreign Affairs Committee. The Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Human Rights was also sanctioned.

The House of Common Foreign Affairs Committee released a report earlier this month based on meetings of the subcommittee that concluded that human rights violations against Uighur Muslims in China constitute crimes against humanity and genocide.

Chinese sanctions prohibit officials from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and prohibit Chinese citizens and institutions from doing business with the officials and interacting with the Human Rights Subcommittee.

The sanctions are in response to penalties imposed by the US on two Chinese officials earlier this week. The government of Biden said it imposed these sanctions in response to human rights violations against Uighur Muslims.

The US sanctions were directed against China’s Wang Junzheng, secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Party Committee, and Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau.

The two officials were targeted for their links to “arbitrary detention and aggravated physical abuse, among other serious human rights violations against Uyghurs,” the Treasury Department said in a statement Monday.

Canada also imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for treating Uyghurs.

Categories
Politics

U.S. sanctions firms that again Myanmar navy following coup

U.S. sanctions companies that back Myanmar military following coup

Myanmar’s military checkpoint can be seen en route to the convention site in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on February 1, 2021.

Stringer | Reuters

The Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on holding companies that provide financial support to the Myanmar military.

The sanctions come after increased efforts by the Myanmar military to isolate its citizens and suppress their desire to protest last month’s coup that overthrew the democratically elected government and arrested its leaders.

The sanctioned companies Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. and Myanmar Economic Corporation Ltd. support the military in various ways.

Pursuant to Executive Order 14014, “all assets and ownership interests of the above companies (MEH, MEC) that are located in the United States or are owned or controlled by US persons are frozen”, essentially all related transactions with the company prohibits the aforementioned companies.

Myanmar Economic Holdings (MEH) has business interests ranging from banking, construction and mining to agriculture, tobacco and food. The Treasury Department said that “MEH’s shareholder data shows that profits are systematically distributed to the Burmese military, including those responsible for widespread human rights abuses.”

Myanmar Economic Corporation Ltd. (MEC) has business relationships with the telecommunications sector “as well as with companies that provide the military with natural resources and operate factories that manufacture goods for the military,” the same press release said.

The US is co-imposing the latest sanctions with the UK, which is expected to announce similar measures against MEH on Thursday, the State Department said in a memo.

“These sanctions specifically target the economic resources of the Burmese military regime, which is responsible for the overthrow of the democratically elected government in Burma and the continued oppression of the Burmese people,” the memo said.

Leaders from the US, India, Australia and Japan, among others, have vowed to restore democracy in Myanmar. The US has also urged China to use its influence over Myanmar to force the military to restore civilian rule.