Moscow says U.S. sanctions charges against 5 Russians are 'cynical' bid to intimidate

N D A Securities

20/10/2022 14:58

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Russia sees charges brought by the
United States against five Russian nationals for alleged
sanctions violations as an attempt to intimidate the business
community in Russia and abroad, its foreign ministry said on
Thursday.
    U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday charged the five with
sanctions evasion and other violations related to shipping
military technologies bought from U.S. manufacturers to Russian
buyers. Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have
been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine,
prosecutors said.
    One of the people charged in the case was arrested in
Germany and another was detained in Italy.
    "The cynicism of this situation is that it is about taking
hostages for further political gain," spokeswoman Maria
Zakharova said in a statement.
    "We view the detention of Russian citizens ... for their
subsequent extradition to the U.S. as a continuation of
Washington's large-scale campaign to capture Russians on whom
the U.S. has 'claims', with a view to their subsequent
guaranteed conviction by U.S. punitive justice for lengthy
prison terms," she added.
    The charges came as Washington seeks to expand its sanctions
and pressure on the Kremlin to stop the invasion of Ukraine,
which Moscow calls a "special military operation".
    "As part of Washington's de facto involvement in Ukraine as
a party to the conflict, there is another attempt to stage a
showdown to intimidate the business community in Russia and
abroad," Zakharova said.
    "It is clear that the hunt for Russian citizens by U.S. law
enforcement and intelligence agencies will only increase. Such
hostile actions will of course not go unanswered," she added.
 (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Nick Macfie)