The United States has imposed sanctions on two people and two companies it said have supported disinformation efforts directed by the Russian government. The U.S. Treasury Department said on March 20 that those designated had provided services “in connection with a foreign malign influence campaign, including attempting to impersonate legitimate media outlets.” The sanctions were imposed on the Moscow-based Social Design Agency and its founder, Ilya Gambashidze, and on the Russian-based Company Group Structura and its CEO and owner, Nikolai Tupikin. The sanctions freeze any assets they have in U.S. jurisdiction and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.
