'More sanctions against Russia over Putin's List'

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin emphasised on Tuesday that additional sanctions will be imposed in the near future on people included on so-called "Putin's List".

The "Putin's List" identifies about 100 Russian oligarchs who have acquired power or wealth thanks to their connections with President Vladimir Putin.

Mnuchin said that nobody should jump to the conclusion that no sanctions will be imposed on the Russians named there, Efe reported.

He was responding to criticism from US lawmakers over the failure by the Donald Trump administration to impose sanctions after Congress voted to do so due to Moscow's interference in the 2016 presidential vote.

"In the near future, you'll see additional sanctions," Mnuchin said while providing testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. "In the next several months, maybe a month, I want to be careful in making that commitment."

Mnuchin offered no further details about the sanctions or their timing.

"There was an extraordinary amount of work that went into this," Mnuchin said regarding the list containing the names of 114 people, including 96 oligarchs close to Putin with estimated individual net worth of $1 billion or more.

Among those on the list are petroleum magnate Roman Abramovich, the owner of Britain's Chelsea soccer team, along with Oleg Deripaska and Mikhail Prokhorov.

The list does not include or set forth economic or diplomatic sanctions on the people mentioned there, but it increases Washington's pressure on Moscow in response to Kremlin's alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election at a time when relations between the two nations are at their lowest point in decades.

The Trump administration on Monday refused to implement new measures against Moscow under a law designed to retaliate for election interference, prompting criticism from Democratic lawmakers, among others.

--IANS

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