More companies subject to U.S. sanctions due to new rule
Owners of companies sanctioned by the U.S. government could find themselves blacklisted because of a change of a rule announced by the Treasury, which has the power to apply and enforce U.S. sanctions.
According to the new rule, if an individual is sanctioned by the U.S. government and ownes more than 50 percent of the company, then the company’s assets could be frozen and risks to be banned from doing any business in the United States.
A lawyer who specializes in trade and sanctions, said that amendment “represents a significant change” that would force companies to re-evaluate which entities could be blocked under the U.S. law.
Any company is subject to blacklist, even if each stakeholder only had a 25 percent interest if it is owned by at least two of the three U.S.-sanctioned Russian billionaires,Gennady Timchenko and Boris and Arkady Rotenberg.
U.S. sanctions further included Russian banks and energy and defense companies in recent months, as part of an effort to punish Russia for what the United States and other Western nations view as its role in fueling a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
Source: Reuters
