The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) widened its area of focus to disrupt Russia’s technology supply chain with new sanctions announced Thursday against entities in Finland and Turkey.

The Treasury said in a press release its latest actions, totaling nearly 100 new designations, continue a sustained effort to target individuals and entities that “enable—or attempt to enable—Russia’s ability to procure high-tech and dual-use goods.”

In Finland, OFAC designated logistics firms Siberica and Luminor for shipping foreign electronics to Russia-based end users, including unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cameras, high-performance optical filters, and lithium batteries.

An ongoing investigation by the Department of Homeland Security uncovered the Finland-based network to be operating in the electronics sector of the Russian Federation economy, the Treasury said. Luminor was also designated for being owned, controlled, or having acted on behalf of a designated person, the agency noted.

Four Russian-based entities, including an aviation and railway supplier; a digital optical systems company; a freight transportation services company; and a computers, software, machinery, and industrial equipment wholesaler, were importing directly from Luminor, the Treasury alleged.

A reliance on dual-use goods to support Russia’s war in Ukraine has also been a sticking point for the Treasury, with imports from the government of Turkey and the Turkish private sector feeding the war machine.

OFAC designated two Turkey-based entities, Margiana and Demirci, for supplying Russia with UAVs, sensors, and measuring tools. Specifically, Margiana’s shipments to two Russia-based entities included high-priority items found in Russian weapons systems, including the Kalibr cruise missile, the Kh-101 cruise missile, and the Orlan-10 UAV.

Concurrently, the U.S. Department of State on Thursday designated 37 entities involved in expanding Russia’s energy production and future export capacity, along with adding two vessels to the blocked property list.

The designated entities included an engineering company in the United Arab Emirates and a ship repair company, shipyard agency, and shipping intermediary all based in Turkey.

Jeff Dale is Managing Editor, Editorial Projects and Analytics, at Compliance Week. He previously served as Compliance Week's Digital Editor and has worked as a copy editor at the Boston Herald and city editor at The Hour Publishing Co. in Norwalk, Conn.View full Profile

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