Depth charge

A significant part of the Kremlin report was classified to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information. This was stated by the assistant Minister of Finance of the United States for Public Relations Tony Sayyg, Bloomberg reports .

Sayyg emphasized that the "incorrect interpretation" of the report was widely spread. According to him, the unexpected part of the document is really based on public materials, including websites, government documents and news in the media, while the classified part is written using intelligence sources and methods.

“The Ministry of Finance made it clear that we are focused on countering the destabilizing activities of Russia,” Sayyg said. “The secret application is included in the report to avoid the potential output of the assets by persons and organizations, as well as to prevent the disclosure of confidential information.”

At the same time, Sayyg again stated that sanctions would follow in relation to a number of defendants in the secret part.

The “Kremlin list” was prepared in accordance with the law adopted in the summer of 2017 “On Combating the Enemies of America through sanctions” and published on Monday evening. The list includes 220 Russians : 114 officials and heads of state -owned companies and 96 billionaires. Among the defendants in the list are actually all the highest leadership of Russia, with the exception of Vladimir Putin. Critics of the document noted that he repeats the Forbes list and a list of officials from the Kremlin and Government sites.

The next day, the head of the Ministry of Finance, Steve Menushin, at a hearing in Congress, stated thatsanctions would be imposed against a number of defendants in the Kremlin List. At the same time, the official emphasized that the inclusion in the list does not mean that restrictive measures will be applied to the face. Menushin noted that the secret part of the report includes "hundreds of pages", while the open occupies nine.

Some deputies from the Democratic Party expressed disappointment with the fact that new sanctions - for involvement in interference in the American presidential elections in 2016 - was not adopted immediately after sending a report on the "Kremlin list" to Congress. Senator-Democrat from Ohio Sherrod Brown accused Menushin of slowness.

“We will take this report as a basis and think about how we make and always when we should impose sanctions,” the head of the Ministry of Finance objected. “This does not mean that we will not impose sanctions on anyone from this list. I do not think that we are slow: the list is published last night. We expect that we will discuss the situation behind closed doors.”