Treasury sanctions Russian FSB operatives in 2020 poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury connected Thursday issued new sanctions against Russian information operatives for the 2020 poisoning of Russian absorption person Alexei Navalny.

The Treasury targeted 4 actors successful the assassination attempt, which occurred soon earlier Navalny flew backmost to Moscow aft campaigning successful Tomsk and Novosibirsk. The sanctions travel 2 weeks aft a Russian tribunal sentenced Navalny to an additional 19 years successful prison connected extremism charges.

He was already serving 2 situation sentences connected charges of embezzlement and fraud.

"The assassination effort against … Navalny successful 2020 represents the Kremlin's contempt for quality rights, and we volition proceed to usage the authorities astatine our disposal to clasp the Kremlin's consenting would-be executioners to account," said Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, successful a statement.

Sanctions were issued Thursday against Alexey Alexandrovich Alexandrov, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, Ivan Vladimirovich Osipov and Vladimir Alexandrovich Panyaev pursuing the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 for engaging successful gross violations of quality rights successful Russia arsenic agents of oregon connected behalf of different person.

Three of the actors are operatives with the Russian Federal Security Service Criminalistics Institute. Panyaev is described by the Treasury arsenic an "FSB operative who reportedly tailed Navalny connected aggregate occasions anterior to the attack."

CNBC has reached retired to the Russian Embassy for comment.

The sanctions complement the State Department's announcement of visa restrictions against the operatives for engagement successful gross violations of quality rights.

FSB officers utilized the nervus cause Novichok, which was created by the Soviet Union, to poison Navalny, the Treasury memo said.

The 4 operatives were antecedently sanctioned connected Aug. 20, 2021, for acting connected behalf of the FSB.

Each has been blocked from each spot and interests of spot successful the U.S. oregon successful possession of U.S. persons and each assets indispensable beryllium reported to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.