US Opposes Russian Businessman's Request to Be Removed From Oligarch Report - Court Filing

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2019) US Treasury Department lawyers filed a motion to dismiss a request by a Russian-born businessman who wants to be removed from the so-called oligarch report that was released as part of the anti-Russian sanctions in 2017, court documents revealed.

"Plaintiff Valentin Gapontsev and his company IPG Photonics sued, requesting that Treasury remove him from the report. Defendants moved to dismiss this action, explaining that Plaintiffs' claims were not justiciable and failed on the merits in any event," the document, filed on Tuesday, said.

Gapontsev has argued that he does not belong on the list which critics say is a replication of a Forbes magazine list of Russian billionaires published in March of 2017.

Gapontsev's company IPG Photonics, a leading developer of high-performance fiber lasers, is now based in the United States.

In August of 2017, the United States passed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in response to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election. The law required the Trump administration to submit a report to Congress listing senior foreign political figures and oligarchs in the Russian Federation and Russian Parastatal Entities. Russia has denied all allegations of meddling in the elections.