MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2023) The US Department of Justice is expanding the staff of Federal prosecutors investigating violations of the sanctions and export controls against Russia by 25 new personnel, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing top officials.
The newspaper cited Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen as saying that the Justice Department will add new prosecutors to its counterintelligence and exports control section to ensure that companies and other third parties follow the sanctions regime against Russia.
The officials specified that some of these prosecutors are new employees, while some have been assigned from different sections. They will work with corporations to investigate cases of circumventing sanctions against Russia, as well as bring criminal charges against companies in case of violations.
Russia has largely been able to withstand the sanctions pressure that Western countries have been piling on it since it launched a military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The United Nations estimated in its January World Economic Situation and Prospects report that the Russian economy contracted by just around 3.5% last year as opposed to the 15% it was projected to shrink at the start of 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in mid-February that the country's gross domestic product decreased by only 2.1% in 2022.
