Feds add Molot to list of sanctioned Russian companies

By Chris Eger

The Russian firm of Molot-Oruzhie, who export their popular line of VEPR rifles to the U.S., is now the subject of official sanctions. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday added VEPR firearm maker Molot to the growing list of sanctioned Russian companies and individuals involved in the conflict in the Ukraine.
The announcement this week included more than three dozen people or entities noted as directly or indirectly contributing to the conflict area ranging from Ukrainian separatists in the so-called Republic of the Crimea to hotels and holding companies. Russian firearms and munitions maker Molot-Oruzhie, which exports semi-automatic firearms to the U.S., was named as evading earlier sanctions imposed in 2014 on similar companies such as Kalashnikov.
“In 2016, previously-designated Kalashnikov Concern advised a foreign company to use Molot-Oruzhie, OOO to falsify invoices in order to circumvent U.S. and EU sanctions,” the notice says. “Molot-Oruzhie is being designated for operating in the arms or related material sector of the Russian Federation and for acting or purporting to act for on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kalashnikov Concern.”
The announcement came the same day President Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to the Oval Office, with both leaders voicing solidarity and cooperation

Source: Guns.com