Rep. Jim Banks introduced the "Putin Accountability Act" to the US Congress, proposing new sanctions against Russia and its citizens. The black list includes the President of Russia, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov, as well as the heads of Rosneft and Gazprom, Igor Sechin and Alexei Miller.

Russia and terrorism

The text of the document was published by The Washington Post. The bill assumes that within 30 days after its adoption, the Russian Federation will be recognized as a country sponsoring terrorism. It is also planned to create a report on the possible interaction of the Russian Federation with terrorist organizations of the world, in particular, with the Taliban (the organization is banned in Russia) in Afghanistan and the Lebanese Hezbollah. The congressmen were asked to check whether Russia supports terrorists financially and arms them.

In addition, the document requires the recognition of “Russian-supported armed forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine” as terrorist organizations. According to Congressman Jim Banks, it is also necessary to stop spending money on cybersecurity talks until the attacks on US agencies stop, as well as on strategic stability talks until Russia stops the "annexation of Crimea."

Nord Stream 2 and the national debt

According to the document, no later than ten days after the adoption of the law, the US president must impose sanctions on people responsible for planning, construction, maintenance, technical assistance, engineering assistance, financing or operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, whether it be a corporate officer or a majority shareholder.

All of them will be banned from entering the United States, they will not be issued visas, and all possible assets and property will be blocked.

Banks also proposed to prohibit citizens of the United States from buying, selling or otherwise dealing with Russian government debt. Under it, the bill means bonds issued by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Russian National Wealth Fund, the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation, regardless of the currency in which they are denominated.

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To calculate Putin's money

The congressman was also interested in the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He demanded within 120 days to prepare a report on "the wealth of Putin and his family members."

The President of the United States must submit to Congress a report on the estimated net worth and known sources of income of Putin and his family members, as well as Olympic champion gymnast Alina Kabaeva, including assets, investments, other business interests, the text of the bill says.

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A blow to businessmen and officials

The document also proposes to impose sanctions against 35 citizens of the Russian Federation within 30 days. Banks is sure that they are involved in the creation of a kleptocracy in Russia (a government controlled by crooks who use the advantages of power to increase personal wealth and political influence by embezzling public funds). The parliamentarian suspects that these people are engaged in "subversive activities" against "democratic institutions and interests of the United States", and also help the Russian authorities to conduct a "disinformation campaign."

The list includes the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin and the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller, businessmen Gennady Timchenko, Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov, Oleg Deripaska. It also includes the head of VTB Andrei Kostin, Deputy President and Chairman of the Board of VTB Denis Bortnikov, the head of Transneft Nikolai Tokarev.

The bill also provides for sanctions for Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, head of the RF Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin and chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Ella Pamfilova. The list also includes representatives of domestic media - the editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya media group and the RT TV channel Margarita Simonyan, TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov and the general director of Channel One Konstantin Ernst.

It is supposed to block their capital and property, to refuse entry to the United States and a visa. Not only the persons specified in the bill fall under the restrictions, but also their families, including children.

Earlier, the US Senate rejected another project of the Republican Party on new sanctions. Then Senator Ted Cruz suggested tougher sanctions against Nord Stream 2. To approve the document, it was necessary to gain 60 votes, but only 55 senators supported it.

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez also proposed his bill on sanctions against Russia. They are proposed to be introduced in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. Among other things, the senator proposed disconnection from SWIFT, a ban on the purchase of public debt and sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin personally.

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