U.S. Treasury Department expands Belarus sanctions

Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday it is expanding sanctions on Belarus on the three-year anniversary of the Belarusian authorities falsification of the August 2020 presidential election.

The expanded sanctions target eight individuals and five entities while identifying one aircraft as blocked property.

Treasury said in a statement that the action targets "several entities involved in the Belarusian regime's continued civil society repression, complicity in the Russian Federation's unjustified war in Ukraine, and enrichment of repressive Belarusian regime leader Alyaksandr Lukashenko."

The targets include three state-owned companies, one Belarusian government agency as well as two sons and the wife of Belarus President Lukashenko.

"Today's actions disrupt the state-owned enterprises and key government officials the authoritarian Lukashenko regime relies on to generate substantial revenue to support its fiercely undemocratic and repressive policies," said a statement from Treasury's Brian Nelson.

Lukashenko sons Dzmitry Aliakseevich Aleksin and Vital Aliakseevich Aleksin and his wife Ina Vladimirovna Aleksina were all sanctioned for running key transportation and tobacco companies serving as "wallets" streaming money to Lukashenko and his inner circle, according to the Treasury Department.

Belarus state-owned airline Belavia Belarusian Airlines was included in Wednesday's expanded sanctions. An Belavia-operated aircraft used by high-ranking Lukashenko regime figures was included in the sanctions. The plane is EW-301PJ, a Canadair Regional Jet CR-200ER aircraft.

The Minsk Aviation Plant 407, described by Treasury as "a key facility for Belarusian production to meet Russia's civil and military aircraft demand," was sanctioned.

Treasury said companies and individuals associated with repression of media and civil society working through the Department of Financial Investigations of The State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus (DFR) were also sanctioned.

The Treasury Department said they are "responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions or policies that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms (including freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, religion or belief, and movement) by individuals in Belarus."

The expanded sanctions included Byelorussian Steel Works Management Company of Holding Byelorussian Metallurgical Company (BSW), which provides millions of dollars of revenue to the Lukashenko regime.

The General Director of that company, Dmitriy Aleksandrovich Korchik, was included in the sanctions as was a Miami-based joint venture with BSW called BEL-KAP-STEEL LLC.

Thursday the EU expanded its sanctions against Belarus targeting sensitive goods and technologies in response to Belarusian support of Russia's Ukraine invasion.

The EU also sanctioned 38 former and current Belarus officials Aug. 3 alleging serious human rights violations that contribute to "the repression of civil society and democratic forces."