US imposes sanctions on 4 entities for violations of Russia oil price cap

The US Treasury Department announced Thursday that it imposed sanctions on four entities for violating a price cap on Russian oil placed by a group of Western countries.

They include a Liberian-registered tanker that it says is controlled by Russia and three United Arab Emirates-based management firms associated with this and other tankers.

"Russia's own top energy official admits that the coalition's price cap and our sanctions have led to widening discounts on Russian oil, limiting the revenue the Kremlin relies on for its illegal war," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement.

"Today's action against vessels violating the price cap on Russian oil should serve as a continued warning that we can and will enforce violations of the cap," he added.

In addition, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two new determinations that implement G-7 commitments to ban imports of diamonds mined in Russia.

The US is part of an international coalition of countries, also known as the price cap coalition, which includes the G-7, the European Union and Australia, which agreed to prohibit the import of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian origin, said the Treasury.