Putin as a sample of corruption

The United States can impose personal sanctions against the President of Russia

The statement of a senior American official about Vladimir Putin's involvement in corruption may become a prologue to impose financial sanctions against the Russian president. Such an assumption is made by American experts in the wake of the interview of the head of the Department of the US Department of Finance BBC television companies, in which he said that the Russian president enriches himself and his environment.

Adam Shubin , head of the US Department of Finance, Deputy Minister of Finance, became the first official American representative, who publicly announced the involvement of the Russian president in corruption. In an interview shot for the BBC documentary, Putin’s secret wealth, shown in the UK at the prime time on Monday evening, he responded to Vladimir Putin: “We witnessed how he, using state assets, enriches his friends, close allies and marginalizes those whom he does not consider friends.

Whether this applies to Russian energy wealth or other state contracts, he gives them to those who, he believes, will serve him, and excludes those who will not. From my point of view, this is a sample of corruption. "The American official added that Putin’s condition does not correspond to his official salary and that the Russian president has been masking his real wealth for a long time.

The latest official data on Putin's income were published in April 2015 on the presidential website. According to them, for the whole of 2014, the President of Russia earned about 7.5 million rubles.

Former US Secretary of State, now an employee of the McCain Institute, David Kremer, sees a new surge of attention in the American administration to corruption surrounded by Vladimir Putin:

- Until now, officially American representatives actually did not concern this topic. There were various information leaks on this subject. The most significant is the publication in The New York Times in April 2014, citing an unpublished CIA report of 2007, in which Vladimir Putin was estimated at approximately $ 40 billion. The sanctions against the environment of the Russian president, introduced after the annexation of Crimea, are largely based on the thesis that he and his environment are involved in large -scale corruption. It is possible that these statements are a reflection of a new stage in the investigation of corruption surrounded by Putin.

- It can be assumed that various conspiracy theories will appear in Russia regarding the reasons for the emergence of this statement of the head of the department for sanctions. Do you have assumptions why the official Washington almost called the Russian president a corrupt official?

Putin must be included in the list of Russian officials subjected to sanctions

- I am not inclined to see in this a large conspiracy. Putin's problem is that his activity gives grounds for such accusations. And there are grounds to believe in their validity. Instead of blaming Western officials, Putin should look at herself in the mirror. In my opinion, Putin should be included in the list of Russian officials subjected to sanctions. A larger number of people from the Russian elite should be there. American legislation provides for the introduction of sanctions against people who are involved in serious corruption, and this statement only confirms the appropriateness of such a proposal, ”says David Kremer.

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Professor Politologist Mark Katz from the University of George Mason in Virginia believes that actions may follow after such statements:

- I think this is an interesting statement especially in the light of the conclusion of the British authorities that Putin can be responsible for the death of Litvinenko. This, in my opinion, is evidence that Washington focused on Vladimir Putin himself, that the Obama administration could actually prepare for the introduction of economic sanctions against Putin. For the first time, she, in fact, recognized Putin's involvement in corruption. The next logical step is to start acting, as it seems to me.

- But the sanctions against Putin seemed to be impossible to imagine, given how irritation of Vladimir Putin they will cause and how unpredictable his answer may be. Washington is ready for this, do you think?

The reserve of sanctions is far from exhausted

- This thought should bother the White House, but perhaps the calculation lies in the fact that the introduction of sanctions or the threat of sanctions against Putin will either force him to rethink his behavior, or will affect the calculations of people who are in the leadership of the country, who finally realize that he is becoming an increasingly burden for the country and decide that it is better if Putin is not in leadership. Let's not forget that we also hear John Kerry’s statements that sanctions can be canceled if significant progress is reached in resolving the Ukrainian crisis. That is, Washington gives the Kremlin mixed signals. On the one hand, sanctions can be canceled, on the other hand, Vladimir Putin himself can become the object of sanctions. The choice is for him. He is reminded once again that he can receive in the event of cooperation and that the reserve of sanctions is far from exhausted in the absence of such cooperation, ”says Mark Katz, professor at George Mason University.

Press Secretary of Vladimir Putin Dmitry Peskov in the BBC film calls the charges against the Russian president "pure fiction." The Russian president himself did not comment on his address - he is just busy with the fight against corruption and on Tuesday will hold a meeting of the Council on Combating Corruption, which, as TASS reports , will “discuss the improvement of measures in this area”, including “removal of property of officials who cannot prove its legal origin”.

I miss here "Yuri Chaika called" Pic.twitter.com/filnbosvij

- Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 25, 2016