Grigory Leps (No. 2 in the ranking of the 50 most influential stars in Russia according to Forbes, income for last year - $15 million) and two other Russians are included in the sanctions list of the US Treasury for alleged connections with the Eastern European international criminal organization Brothers' Circle, it became known from the message , published on Wednesday on the ministry’s website.

The US Department of the Treasury announced the imposition of sanctions on six people and four companies allegedly associated with the two leaders of the criminal organization, Vladislav Leontyev and Gafur Rakhimov.

The list includes Grigory Viktorovich Lepsveridze, also known as “Grigory Leps” and “Grisha”. His personal data - date and place of birth - coincide with the data of the Russian musician. In addition to him, the list also includes two Russians - Vadim Lyalin and Igor Shlykov.

The sanctions list also included the Russian companies MS Group Invest OOO and Gurgen House FZCO, the UAE company Fasten Tourism LLC and the Austrian Meridian Jet Management GmbH.

According to the ministry, Lyalin is the main liaison to the head of the organization, Vladislav Leonyev. Grigory Leps is allegedly involved in the transportation of funds, and Igor Shlykov is responsible for obtaining the necessary certificates.

Brothers' Circle is an international criminal organization involved in drug trafficking. In 2011, US President Barack Obama designated the organization as a "significant transnational organized crime group."

According to this decree, the Ministry of Finance must “disrupt and prohibit their global criminal operations.” Placing a person on the ministry's "black list" entails blocking his assets in the United States, as well as a ban on business contacts with him by persons living in the United States.

The US Treasury imposed sanctions against Grigory Leps