Biden administration announced new sanctions on some companies and suppliers, claiming that Russia fuelled the invasion of Ukraine. Among these companies are 8 companies from Turkey.
The Biden administration said it would add more than 100 companies and organisations in Russia, China and several other countries to the restricted trade list and take other measures to catch more advanced technology flowing to the Russian military by expanding its network.
New rules are aimed at disrupting supply networks that transfer semiconductors and other technologies to Russian forces, which then use them in the war against Ukraine.
Rules would give the US government expanded authority to prevent products made with US technology from being shipped to Russia, even if those products were manufactured in countries other than the US.
The sanctions also include the addition of 123 entities in Russia, Crimea, China, Turkey, Iran and Cyprus to the asset list. Suppliers are prohibited from shipping certain products to companies on the asset list without first obtaining a government licence. The government also added a number of addresses in Hong Kong and Turkey that are known to have established shell companies, meaning that other shell companies registered at those addresses will face trade restrictions.
The number of sanctioned companies exceeded 1,000
Among those added to the asset list is an office specialising in setting up shell companies at 135 Bonham Strand in Hong Kong’s financial district, which was uncovered in a recent New York Times investigation. According to the investigation, the office was the place of registration for at least four companies that transferred millions of chips and sensors to military technology companies in Russia. According to the NYT, with the new sanctions list, the number of organisations added by the Biden administration to the list of entities related to Russia’s war in Ukraine has exceeded 1,000.
Additions to the list from the US Departments of State and Treasury
On 23 August, the US State and Treasury departments also added nearly 400 individuals and entities to the sanctions list for helping to sustain Russia’s war effort. The Treasury Department said the sanctions target networks that supply munitions for Russia, assist in sanctions circumvention, launder gold and supply electronic components, among other actions.
In the list in the document, the name of one of the companies in Turkey was not clearly stated and was defined as ‘Address 01’. Companies from Turkey are listed as follows:
Address 01
All Global Trading Elektronik Dış Ticaret Ltd Sti
ASR Trans Lojistik Ve Dis Tic Ltd Sti,
Biopharmist Medical Urunler Foreign Trade LTD STI,
BRK International Nakliyat Tic. Ltd. Sti,
BuyBest Electronic,
Confienza Pazarlama Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
Turkic Union Digital Technology Donusum Office.
Confienza was the only one on the list of Russia-related sanctions announced by the US Department of Finance and State on 23 August.
