WASHINGTON, April 6. /TASS/. The United States introduces sanctions against seven Russian businessmen, twelve companies under their control and 17 officials, a senior government official told reporters on Friday.

The US Treasury Department blacklisted businessmen Oleg Deripaska, Vladimir Bogdanov, Suleiman Kerimov, Igor Rotenberg, Kirill Shamalov, Andrei Skoch and Viktor Vekselberg. Restrictions were imposed on Agroholding Kuban, Basic Element Limited, B-Finance, En+ Group, GAZ Group, Gazprom Burenie, Eurosibenergo, Ladoga Management, NPV Engineering, Renova Group, Rosoboronexport, Russian Financial Corporation, Russian Machines, and Rusal.

The US authorities have also put on the sanction list a number of Russian officials, including Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee Konstantin Kosachyov, and head of the federal communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, Aleksandr Zharov, as follows from a news release by the US Department of the Treasury.

On the list there are also the director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies Mikhail Fradkov, Tula Region’s Governor, Aleksei Dyumin, presidential aide Yevgeny Shkolov, presidential representative in the Southern Federal District Vladimir Ustinov, chief of the Interior Ministry’s department for resistance to extremism Timur Valiulin, Bank of Russia deputy governor, Aleksandr Torshin, Russian Guard chief Viktor Zolotov, State Duma Speaker Vladislav Reznik, and chief of the presidential office for socio-economic cooperation with the CIS countries, the republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia Oleg Govorun.

The assets of all 24 people from Russia and 15 various organizations that fall under the US sanctions and under US jurisdiction have been blocked, and American entities are banned from dealing with them, according to the US Treasury Department.

"All assets subject to US jurisdiction of the designated individuals and entities, and of any other entities blocked by operation of law as a result of their ownership by a sanctioned party, are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from dealings with them. Additionally, non-US persons could face sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for or on behalf of the individuals or entities blocked today," the statement said.

New sanctions were imposed on Russia in response to its "malign activities across the world," a senior administration official said.

"This set of designations is not in response to any single event or issue. Rather, the United States is taking these actions in response to the totality of the Russian government's ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern of malign activity across the world," the official said, adding that it included Russia’s "occupation of Crimea, instigation of violence in eastern Ukraine, support for the Assad regime in Syria by supplying material and weaponry, and ongoing malicious cyber activities."