Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned one Russian national, Dmitry Kudryakov, and one Belarusian national, Iryna Litviniuk, for their role in exploiting the Guatemalan mining sector, as well as three associated entities connected with their corruption schemes. These individuals and entities are designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. Compania Guatemalteca de Niquel (CGN), Compania Procesadora de Niquel (ProNiCo), and Mayaniquel function as subsidiaries of the Solway Investment group, a Russian enterprise that has exploited Guatemalan mines since 2011. The leader of Solway’s mining operations in Guatemala, Russian national Dmitry Kudryakov (Kudryakov), along with Belarusian national Iryna Litviniuk (Litviniuk), allegedly led multiple bribery schemes over several years involving politicians, judges, and government officials. In addition, Litviniuk conducted corrupt acts in furtherance of Russian influence peddling schemes by unlawfully giving cash payments to public officials in exchange for support for Russian mining interests.
Kudryakov and Litviniuk are designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, corruption related to government contracts, or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.
OFAC also designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 the three companies registered in Guatemala that are owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Kudryakov: CGN, ProNiCo, and Mayaniquel.
On December 23, 2016, the President signed the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Pub. L. 114-328, Title XII, Subtitle F) (the “Act”) into law. The Act authorized the President to impose targeted sanctions on any foreign person the President determines is, among other things, responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, or a government official, or a senior associate of such an official, responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption.
On December 20, 2017, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) (IEEPA), issued Executive Order 13818 (82 FR 60839, December 26, 2017) (E.O. 13818), effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on December 21, 2017.
In E.O. 13818, the President determined that serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat.
OFAC is issuing the Global Magnitsky Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 583 (the “Regulations”), to implement the Act and E.O. 13818, pursuant to authorities delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury in E.O. 13818. A copy of E.O. 13818 appears in appendix A to this part.
