FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. on Wednesday [12-20-17] blacklisted Chechen leader and Kremlin ally Ramzan Kadyrov and four other Russians as part of the Trump administration’s first sanctions decision under the Magnitsky Act, a federal law targeting Russian human-rights abusers.
The move stands to further strain Washington’s relations with Moscow, coming after Russians linked to the Kremlin lobbied the Trump presidential campaign last year to back off Magnitsky Act sanctions.
The U.S. designation freezes any of Mr. Kadyrov’s assets under American jurisdiction and bans him from traveling to the U.S. The measures also are likely to make institutions in other countries wary of engaging with designated individuals…
Moscow has opposed the Magnitsky Act since its passage. U.S. investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election have focused, in part, on Russia’s attempts to undermine or repeal the law.
With Wednesday’s designations, 49 individuals have now been blacklisted under the Magnitsky Act…
The Russian embassy in Washington didn’t immediatelyrespond to requests for comment.”
-Samuel Rubenfeld and Ian Talley, “Treasury Clamps ‘Magnitsky’ Sanctions on Putin Ally in Chechnya,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 20, 2017 06:57pm