U.S. sanctions foreign officials for corruption, COVID-linked graft

Article content material

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Division on Thursday focused authorities officers and firms it accused of corruption, together with officers in El Salvador and Guatemala concerned of their international locations COVID-19 responses.

Thursday’s motion, the newest in a sequence of sanctions bulletins marking the week of President Joe Biden’s democracy summit https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-summit-democracy-rally-nations-against-rising-authoritarianism-2021-12-09, focused 15 people and entities throughout a number of international locations in Central America, Africa and Europe, the Treasury mentioned.

Article content material

“Corrupt acts take assets from residents, undermine public belief, and threaten the progress of those that combat for democracy,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen mentioned in a press release.

These focused embrace El Salvador’s Chief of Cupboard Martha Carolina Recinos De Bernal, who allegedly headed a scheme to award inflated contracts as a part of the nation’s coronavirus response, and a Guatemalan well being official who engaged in misappropriation of funds.

A raft of sanctions introduced on Wednesday additionally focused two El Salvador officers https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-takes-aim-organized-crime-latest-sanctions-marking-democracy-summit-2021-12-08 Washington accused of main, facilitating and organizing quite a lot of secret conferences with incarcerated leaders of gangs, together with the infamous MS-13.

Article content material

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele hit again on Twitter, writing that U.S. pursuits overseas had “NOTHING TO DO with democracy.”

Additionally focused on Thursday have been two South Sudanese building firms allegedly given preferential remedy by high-level officers in that nation, Liberian Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, Ukrainian Andrey Portnov, accused of shopping for affect in Ukraine’s courts, and two Angolan former officers accused of embezzling billions of {dollars}.

The State Division on Thursday additionally introduced visa bans on 9 people it mentioned have been concerned in vital corruption, and their quick members of the family. (Reporting by Simon Lewis; Modifying by Dan Grebler)