US sanctions have been presented to a network that was engaged in circumvention of sanctions to support the Russian military industrial complex. Among the people subjected to sanctions is Latvian citizen Marks Blats and his owned company Elektrooptika LLC.
The US Department of Finance Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has presented sanctions to 22 private and legal persons involved in a network set up to circumvent sanctions to support the Russian military industrial complex. The latest sanctions mostly apply to Russian arms dealer Igor Zimenkov, his son Jonathan and so-called Zimenkov network companies in Singapore, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Israel and elsewhere.
Zimenkov, his son and a large network of people have worked to sell products manufactured by the Russian military industrial complex to third countries. They have close contacts with companies of the Russian military industrial complex under international sanctions, as concluded by the US Department of Finances. Zimenkov has also supported the Belarusian military industrial complex, securing contracts for Belspecvneshtehnika (BSVT) in South America.
The latest sanctions are aimed at Israel-based microelectronics company Texel F.C.G. Technology 2100. Latvian citizen Blats is this company’s director general. The US Department of Finances describes him in its report
as a high-ranking employee of Zimenkov’s network and a business partner to sanctioned Belarusian citizen Aleksandr Zaitsev.
OFAC will also introduce sanctions against Blats’ owned company Elektrooptika, which was registered in 2013. The company provides business services.
Texel is involved in large monetary transactions using the network’s central company Asia Trading & Construction PTE, based in Singapore. Information available to the US Department of Finances indicates that Texel also has projects tied to Russia’s defensive capabilities. Since February 2022, when Russia commenced its invasion of Ukraine, Texel and Bats have supplied Russian company with optical and infrared radiation equipment.
Sanctions were presented against Zimenkov’s Cyprus-based network company GBD Limited and its manager Aleksandr Volfovich. Sanctions were also presented to six companies related to Volfovich in Cyprus, Bulgaria and Israel.
Addition of these private and legal persons to the list of sanctions means any assets and property they may own in the US are blocked. All assets that are directly or indirectly owned by one or multiple sanctioned persons are also blocked.
Any deals with sanctioned persons are only allowed with a special permit from OFAC.
Generally over the past 12 months the US Department of Finances has imposed sanctions against more than 100 persons for circumventing sanctions imposed against Russia.
Information from Firmas.lv indicates the US has imposed sanctions against Elekrooptika and Blats as the company’s official, owner and beneficial owner. The company also has a tax debt of EUR 2 608.
Last year Elektrooptika was excluded from the value added tax payers register. In 2021 the company operated with turnover of EUR 28 967 and suffered losses worth EUR 25 181. Elektrooptika’s base capital is EUR 2 845. Blats owns 99.02% of shares and Angela Shakina owns 0.98% of shares.
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