The US has enforced new penalties on two people and two organizations linked to a Russian misinformation campaign that involved many fake news websites, as announced by the Treasury Department on Wednesday.
The sanctioned parties are Social Design Agency (SDA) and its founder Ilya Andreevich Gambashidze in Moscow, and Company Group Structura LLC along with its owner and CEO Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tupikin in Russia, as stated by the Treasury according to a statement from the Treasury..
The two companies are believed to have played a crucial role in providing services for the Russian government’s misinformation efforts, including creating websites that pretend to be government organizations and reputable media outlets in Europe.
Tupikin and Gambashidze are accused of setting up over 60 websites imitating credible news organizations and using deceptive social media accounts to promote their imitation websites. The Treasury stated that these websites contained images and functioning links to genuine sites.
The recent penalties will freeze the assets of the companies, and American financial institutions or individuals could face sanctions or legal action if they continue to conduct transactions or interact with them.
“Today’s action reflects our continuous efforts to counter the Kremlin’s harmful influence operations,” stated State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Wednesday. “We will continue to expose Russia’s ongoing efforts to deceive audiences through state-led deceitful campaigns. The United States remains committed to deterring and disrupting the Kremlin’s repeated attempts to undermine democracy.”
Brian E. Nelson, the under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, mentioned that the department is “dedicated to revealing Russia’s extensive campaigns of government-directed deception.”
This is the most recent of several sanctions imposed by the US against Russia-supported individuals accused of aiding Moscow’s disinformation efforts.
