The United States has slapped sanctions on two Russian intelligence officers who it says attempted to interfere in a local U.S. election, the Treasury Department said on June 23.
The two Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers, who were recently indicted by the Department of Justice, played a significant role in the Kremlin’s attempts to conduct "global malign influence operations," the Treasury Department said in a news release.
The two officers, Yegor Popov and Aleksei Sukhodolov, were indicted in April by the U.S. Justice Department, which said they had worked to undermine democratic processes in the United States and other countries through a network of co-conspirators.
Washington has accused the Kremlin of using such networks to exploit societal divisions, reduce confidence in democratic processes, and encourage anti-U.S. and anti-democratic political views.
“As part of its efforts, the Kremlin often uses social media as a tool for disseminating disinformation to confuse and mislead citizens globally and to co-opt witting U.S. persons to advance Russia’s operational and geopolitical goals,” the Treasury Department statement says.
According to the department, Popov and Sukhodolov have worked with Aleksandr Ionov, a Russian charged last year with conducting a multiyear effort to use political groups in Florida, Georgia, and California to interfere in elections.
Ionov was indicted together with Natalia Burlinova, and their organizations were designated by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for sanctions for having acted on behalf of the Russian government.
The Treasury Department has accused Russia of recruiting people and groups around the world who are positioned to amplify its disinformation efforts to further its goals of destabilizing democratic societies.
"The United States will not tolerate threats to our democracy, and today’s action builds on the whole of government approach to protect our system of representative government," said Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
The department did not say what specific election the two Russian men are accused of attempting to influence.
The sanctions freeze all U.S. assets held by the individuals in U.S. jurisdiction and bar people in the United States from dealing with them.