WASHINGTON, 03 December 2021, (TON): The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in response to the Lukashenka regime’s blatant disregard for international norms and the wellbeing of its own citizens, is designating 20 individuals and 12 entities and identifying three aircraft as blocked property pursuant to Executive Orders (E.O.) 14038 and 13405.

The persons designated today have enabled the regime’s migrant smuggling into the European Union (EU), have taken part in the ongoing crackdown on human rights and democracy, and have propped up the regime financially.

As part of today’s action, Treasury is also imposing restrictions on dealings in new issuances of Belarusian sovereign debt in the primary and secondary markets, aligning with actions recently taken by allies and partners.

These actions reaffirm the U.S. government’s commitment to impose costs on the Lukashenka regime for enabling corruption, human rights abuses, inhumane exploitation of vulnerable people and orchestration of irregular migration, and attacks against democratic freedoms and international norms.

Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki said “the United States stands alongside its international partners and allies in imposing costs on the Lukashenka regime for its deplorable behavior, including migrant smuggling.”