The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury announced on Wednesday the designation of two individuals and two entities for their involvement in assisting the Government of the Russian Federation (GoR) in an influence campaign malicious stranger.
The campaign included attempts to impersonate legitimate media outlets. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson underscored the commitment to exposing Russia’s extensive deception campaigns aimed at deceiving voters and undermining trust in democratic institutions at worldwide.
According to the press release, Russia has used a variety of tactics, including malign influence campaigns and illicit cyber activities, to undermine the interests of the United States and its allies in regions including Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.
The campaign included the use of intelligence services, proxies and influence tools, often masked by a network of websites and mandated personas, giving the false impression of independent sources of information.
The identified individuals, Ilya Andreevich Gambashidze and Nikolai Alexandrovich Tupikin, and their associated entities, were found to be key players in this campaign, carrying out the directives of the Russian presidential administration.
They allegedly created more than 60 websites impersonating legitimate government organizations and media outlets in Europe. These efforts have extended to staging videos and using fake social media accounts to amplify content on fake websites.
Yesterday’s actions by OFAC included blocking all assets and interests in the property of designated persons in the United States or under the control of American individuals. Financial institutions and entities that engage in transactions with these sanctioned individuals or entities may be exposed to sanctions or enforcement action.
Read more about other OFAC sanctions: US Sanctions Egyptian IT Experts Aiding ISIS in Cybersecurity
From a regulatory perspective, OFAC has stated that the effectiveness of its sanctions lies not only in the designation of individuals, but also in its willingness to remove individuals from the sanctions list in accordance with the law, in the ultimate goal of bringing about positive behavior change. Moving highlights ongoing efforts to counter malign foreign influence campaigns and protect democratic processes.