Back on January 30, Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich was been named to the United States Treasury Department’s Russian Oligarchs list, dubbed by many observers as the “Putin list.”
This list, with 210 names on it, includes 96 oligarchs with a net worth or more than $1 billion (£710 million) and very close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. While Abramovich, and the other names on the list, weren’t sanctioned at the time that this list was announced, it did serve as a prelude to potential economic sanctions.
What might be just the first wave of sanctions got announced today, and Roman Abramovich, surprisingly, was escaped unscathed.
https://twitter.com/USTreasury/status/982235021871276033
“The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin in a press release announcing the sanctions on the U.S. government agency website.
“The Russian government engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities.”
“Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government’s destabilizing activities.”
Abramovich, notoriously ultra-secretive, is the world’s 139th wealthiest man, with a net worth of 7 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He reportedly once gave Putin a yacht.
It’s been well documented that Abramovich is a bosom buddy of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump. Additionally, Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump and Abramovich’s ex-wife are very close friends.
The Putin list was a requirement after Congress passed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Caatsa) in August. Caatsa is a response to Russia for their meddling in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
For the full Putin list, go to this link. The fact the Chelsea owner wasn’t included in the group hit with sanctions today surprised a lot of people who keep close tabs on current events; or at least events related to this topic.
Here’s a small sampling of what people are saying on social media about this development:
Key Putin ally and close confidant Roman Abramovich, who is also close friends with Jared and Ivanka, is missing from this list. Roman co-owns two US steel plants and also has expensive real estate in Aspen and NYC. Interesting omission. https://t.co/pbAbcYU34H
— Thomas Brown (@brownertj) April 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/m_orenstein/status/982362758254604289
*checks nervously for Roman Abramovich* https://t.co/vJpNHm2rve
— Brian Stout (@bstouttt) April 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/lubasmal/status/982381185019138049
It will be really interesting now to see how Abramovich responds to this. Perhaps he’ll feel relieved; or maybe he’ll take it as an affront.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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