Why the US imposed sanctions against EU citizens and companies

The US Treasury imposed restrictions against seven EU citizens and a number of foreign companies, including European ones. In fact, this was the first application of the institution of so-called secondary sanctions since the beginning of the sanctions war against Russia, which are introduced under the pretext of helping to circumvent restrictions or cooperation with sanctioned persons.

The list of the US Treasury included EU citizens: Walter Moretti, Frederic Pierre Villa (both had dual citizenship – Switzerland and Italy), Markus Gerhard Müller (Germany), Ronald Eric Kosman, Bruno Koller, Hans-Peter Bomatter and Lutwin Schommer (all four – Swiss).

In addition to individuals, sanctions were also imposed on companies: the Swiss Swisstec 3D AKUS AG and Tamyna AG, the UAE Taerio Limited and Tamyna FZE, the Maltese Stratton Investment Group LTD, and a number of others, including a company from St. Petersburg, which, according to the US Treasury, also took part in the chain of circumvention of sanctions.

Moretti’s namesake, Svetlana, also appears on the sanctions list. She is listed as the owner and CEO of Tamimed, a Moscow-based telemedicine software company, according to a description on her website.

Sanctions against them were introduced in accordance with the Executive Order of the President of the United States 14024. It implies the freezing of property and a ban on any transactions in US jurisdiction. Previously, sanctions by the same decree were imposed against members of the Russian government, Russian businessmen and companies.

The US Treasury justifies the inclusion of European persons in the sanctions list as follows.

Swiss-Italian businessman Walter Moretti and a network of his partners and companies, according to the US authorities, allegedly secretly purchased Western technology and equipment for the Russian special services and military. In addition, they allegedly purchased equipment for Russian nuclear weapons laboratories, according to a release from the Ministry of Finance.

Moretti was on the sanctions list because, according to the Americans, he acted or intended to act, directly or indirectly, in the interests of the Russian government, the report says.

Other Europeans – German citizen Markus Gerhard Müller, Swiss Ronald Erik Kosman and Bruno Koller, as well as Swisstec 3D AKUS AG, allegedly helped Moretti in the purchase of sensitive Western technologies and equipment.

The Italian businessman also used structures from the UAE – Taerio Limited and Tamyna FZE – in his secret procurement schemes, writes the US Treasury. The “daughter” of the first organization – the Maltese Stratton Investment Group LTD – is also included in the sanctions list. Frederic Pierre Villa came under restrictions due to the fact that he was the leader of the latter.

The Swiss company Tamyna AG sent numerous large money transfers to the Moretti company, writes the US Treasury Department. And Swiss citizens Hans-Peter Bomatter and Lutwin Schommer were her senior managers, the US Treasury writes.

Another company of the same name to the structure from the UAE – the Bulgarian Taerio International LTD EOOD, as well as the St. Petersburg-based Interpolytrade Limited Company are owned or controlled by Mueller, the US Treasury said in a statement. Their American authorities also included in the sanctions lists.

In 2010, Fontanka, an investigative journalism publication in St. Petersburg, mentioned a person with the same first and last name, Walter Moretti, as the head of the Moscow office of VP Bank, a fairly large banking structure from Liechtenstein (assets under management, according to a 2021 report ., amounted to more than 50 billion Swiss francs, $47 billion). The bank provided services for wealthy clients. Moretti also appeared in this position in VP Bank’s 2011 financial statements (Walter Moretti, the spelling matches the version specified in the release of the US Treasury).

The publication of Fontanka was devoted to the dismissal of the head of the investment fund Omega Investment AG Vladislav Shusterov. This fund was a subsidiary of VP Bank; Shusterov’s dismissal was explained by his administration as “revealed financial fraud.” As Moretti explained to Fontanka, they were connected with the bowling business.

According to the SPARK system, from 2015 to 2019. Moretti ran the Moscow office of another Swiss bank, Julius Bär Group, which also specializes in private banking.

Another person on the list of the US Department of the Treasury, Muller Markus Gerhard, according to SPARK, owns 50% of Interpolytrade Limited Company (Interpolytrade Limited Company, according to the company card). Its main activity is wholesale of computers, peripheral devices for computers and software.

For the rest of the EU citizens who fell under the sanctions, no relevant information was found in the public domain.

According to the US Department of the Treasury, the central company that took part in the purchase of sanctioned products – Swisstec 3D AKUS AG – is engaged in the production of high-precision laser machines, follows from the description of its activities on the official website. The equipment is used to produce medical devices such as cannulas or needles. According to information on the website of the Swiss company, it has been operating on the market for 25 years, but the latest news published on the portal refers to 2020.