(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden has excluded two Russian billionaires tied to his son Hunter Biden from the latest batch of sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Yelena Baturina, the widow of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, with a net worth of $1.3 billion, and Vladimir Yevtushenkov, reportedly worth $1.7 billion, remain unaffected by the recent sanctions imposed by the Biden administration, as reported by the New York Post on Friday.
Hunter Biden-linked Russian oligarchs spared in latest 500-name sanctions list https://t.co/W5KYybXUCa pic.twitter.com/taNIuK0BI9
— New York Post (@nypost) February 23, 2024
Strikingly, both individuals have met with Hunter Biden. Baturina dined with Joe Biden at Café Milano in 2014 and again in 2015, according to ex-Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer and the Post, respectively.
In February 2014, Baturina sent $3.5 billion to a firm led by Hunter Biden, although Archer admitted in July that he could not recall the purpose of the transfer, as reported by the Post.
Bank records further revealed that Baturina transferred $2.75 million to a company associated with Archer and Hunter Biden. The oligarch also invested a substantial $120 million in the Archer-owned Rosemont Realty, linked to the first son.
Yevtushenkov, not to be outdone, met with Hunter Biden at least twice, according to information from the controversial laptop.
The Post noted that the Russian oligarch allegedly worked with Hunter Biden in response to a DOJ probe into his company, MTS, and a $1 billion bribe to Uzbekistani officials between 2004 and 2012.
This would mark the first time Joe Biden skips the Russian oligarchs from previous sanctions. In 2022, the president came under fire after Britain and Australia introduced sanctions against Yevtushenkov, all while the U.S. looked the other way.
On Friday, Joe Biden announced over 500 new sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine and the death of Navalvy, the leader of the Russian opposition had been jailed over corruption allegations.
“These sanctions will target individuals connected to Navalny’s imprisonment as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across multiple continents,” Biden claimed in a statement.
Today, we’re imposing over 500 new sanctions in response to Putin’s brutal war and Aleksey Navalny’s death.
Putin is betting on us to walk away.
We won’t. pic.twitter.com/KvBZm00MXx
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 23, 2024
