Switzerland has been hit by new US sanctions against Moscow

The United States on Monday announced a new round of sanctions aimed at disrupting the supply chains of Russia’s military apparatus and Kremlin-linked financial networks, including companies in France and Switzerland. According to press releases from the US Treasury and State Departments, the sanctions specifically target Russian electronics company Milander and leading companies in Armenia, Taiwan and Switzerland linked to the Russian company.

“In response to Moscow’s unprovoked war on Ukraine, the United States continues to disrupt the Russian military supply chain and impose heavy costs on those who come to the aid of President Vladimir Putin, as well as those who support Russian brutality—its neighbor,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was quoted as saying in the press release.

Washington also announced it would allow family members of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, already targeted by US sanctions, including one of his daughters, Gulnara Kerimova, who owns four real estate companies in France. Laurin Katz, a Swiss national who heads these companies, is also allowed. The new restrictions target the management of Russian-Maltese luxury airline Emperor Aviation, which facilitated luxury travel for the Kerimov family.

Alexander-Walter Studalter, a key player in the Kerimovs’ financial network, and Russian businessman Murat Aliyev and their associated entities were also sanctioned, the reports said. Finally, two other holding companies linked to Andrei Grigoryevich Guriev, a former Russian senator based in Switzerland and close to Vladimir Putin, were also targeted.

US sanctions are specifically aimed at freezing these individuals’ potential assets in the US and prohibiting all contact between them with US banks or others.