Fact Sheet: United States Imposes Additional Costs on Russia for the Poisoning of Aleksey Navalny

FACT SHEET

CBW ACT SANCTIONS

Description of Sanctions: Pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (the CBW Act), the United States will impose a second round of sanctions on the Russian Federation over its use of a “Novichok” nerve agent in the August 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny.

New sanctions imposed today under the CBW Act include:

1. Restrictions on the permanent imports of certain Russian firearms. New and pending permit applications for the permanent importation of firearms and ammunition manufactured or located in Russia will be subject to a policy of denial.
2. Additional Department of Commerce export restrictions on nuclear and missile-related goods and technology pursuant to the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.

These sanctions also include a continuation of measures imposed on March 2, 2021, as well as in 2018 and 2019 in response to the poisoning of Sergey Skripal and his daughter, along with the waivers associated with these sanctions.  For information about the waivers, please see 86 FR 14804 and 84 FR 44671.

Duration and Conditions for Removal

These latest sanctions on Russia pursuant to the CBW Act will take effect upon the publication of a Federal Register notice expected on September 7, 2021, and they will remain in place for a minimum of 12 months. The sanctions can only be lifted after a 12-month period if the Executive Branch determines and certifies to Congress that Russia has met several conditions described in the CBW Act, 22 U.S.C. 5605(c), including (1) providing reliable assurances that it will not use chemical weapons in violation of international law, (2) it is not making preparations to use chemical weapons in the future, (3) it is willing to allow international inspectors to verify those assurances, and (4) it is making restitution to Mr. Navalny.

ACTIONS UNDER E.O.s 13382 AND 14024

Today, the Departments of State and the Treasury also designated numerous individuals and entities, including operatives involved in poisoning Mr. Navalny and entities that have developed Russia’s chemical weapons capabilities.  Together with the measures imposed under the CBW Act, these actions send a clear message that there will be accountability for the use of chemical weapons.

THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE’S ACTIONS UNDER E.O. 14024

Pursuant to the authorities in E.O. 14024 of April 15, 2021 (Blocking Property With Respect To Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation), today the Department of State designated two Russian Ministry of Defense scientific institutes:  the 27th Scientific Center and the 33rd Scientific Research and Testing Institute.  Both entities are being re-designated pursuant to Section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 14024 because they have been determined to operate or have operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy.  The Department of State previously designated both of these entities under E.O. 13382 of June 28, 2005 (Blocking Property of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators and Their Supporters).

The 27th Scientific Center and the 33rd Scientific Research and Testing Institute have engaged in activities to develop Russia’s chemical weapons capabilities, including technologies for delivering such weapons.  The 33rd Scientific Research and Testing Institute stewards Russia’s Shikhany Chemical Proving Ground, where Russia conducts chemical weapons-related testing.  The 27th Scientific Center has been involved with Russian chemical weapons research and testing activities.

THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY’S ACTIONS UNDER E.O. 13382 AND E.O. 14024

On March 2, 2021, the Department of State designated Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) pursuant to E.O. 13382 for its role in the Navalny poisoning and for possessing a Novichok chemical weapon.  Today, pursuant to E.O. 13382, Treasury designated the FSB Criminalistics Institute; Vladimir Bogdanov, who is Chief of the FSB’s Special Technology Center; Stanislav Makshakov, who is reportedly an FSB official who was in frequent communication and coordination with FSB leadership and individuals involved in Navalny’s poisoning around the time of the attack; Konstantin Kudryavtsev, who is an FSB Criminalistics Institute operative who is reported to have been a part of the core FSB group that was involved in Navalny’s poisoning; Alexey Alexandrov and Ivan Osipov, who are FSB Criminalistics Institute operatives that have been reported as two of the main perpetrators of the attack on Navalny; Vladimir Panyaev, who is an FSB operative who was reported to have tailed Navalny on several occasions prior to the poisoning; and Aleksey Sedov, Chief of the FSB’s Service for the Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism, whose operatives have been reported to have coordinated with the members of the FSB unit involved in the Navalny poisoning.

Under E.O. 14024, Treasury also designated Kirill Vasiliev, who is the Director of the FSB Criminalistics Institute.  Vasiliev was in communication with FSB Criminalistics Institute Deputy Director Stanislav Makshakov in the months preceding Navalny’s poisoning, specifically during an incident believed to have been a previous poisoning attempt against Navalny.  Additionally, Treasury also designated Artur Zhirov and the State Institute for Experimental Military Medicine (GNII VM), which is a scientific research organization specializing in security and defense that operates under the ultimate authority of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and which has collaborated with the 27th Scientific Center and the 33rd Scientific Research and Testing Institute.  Zhirov is the former director of the 27th Scientific Center and a chemical weapons expert.

The individuals targeted today either participated in Russia’s operation to assassinate or surveil Navalny. Additional information on Treasury’s action is available at:  https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0328.

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