US imposes sanctions on 19 Russians for alleged interference in American election

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on 19 Russians for alleged interference in American election, including 13 indicted by Mueller.

The US Treasury announced the names of the Russians whose assets were being frozen and whom Americans were prevented from doing business with.

Among the names, were the 13 individuals indicted by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller for "conspiracy to defraud the United States".

The Trump administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in the US election, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure, said Treasury Secretary Steven T Mnuchin.

"These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia," Mnuchin said.

"Treasury intends to impose additional CAATSA sanctions, informed by our intelligence community, to hold Russian government officials and oligarchs accountable for their destabilising activities by severing their access to the US financial system," he said.

The move comes as the United states joined European leaders Thursday in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England.

In a rare joint statement, President Donald Trump, President Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Theresa May say "there is no plausible alternative explanation" to Russian responsibility in the March 4 attack in England.

Britain has expelled 23 Russian diplomats and suspended high-level contacts with Moscow over the incident.

OneIndia News