U.S. sanctions 22 people, 12 companies for aiding Russia's defense industry

WASHINGTON. Feb 1 (Interfax) - The United States has imposed blocking sanctions on 22 citizens of various countries and 12 foreign companies for, according to Washington, their assistance to the Russian military-industrial complex, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a statement.

Sanctions were imposed on individuals with citizenship of Latvia, Singapore, Cyprus, Israel, and Uzbekistan, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in the statement. In addition, sanctions were imposed on companies linked to those individuals and registered in the aforementioned countries and Bulgaria.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury believes that those individuals formed a network and supported or cooperated with enterprises of the defense industries of Russia and Belarus.