US Treasury Declines To Comment On Deripaska's Lawsuit Over Sanctions

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2019) The US Treasury Department has declined to comment on the lawsuit filed by Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska and challenging its decision to impose sanctions on him last year, a spokesperson told Sputnik on Friday.

"Treasury does not generally comment on pending litigation," the spokesperson said.

The US Justice Department also declined to provide a comment to Sputnik.

Earlier on Friday, Deripaska filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Washington against the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) over sanctions against him and his companies. In the lawsuit, Deripaska said his net worth had fallen more than 80 percent due to the sanctions.

The court document said the United States' sanctions against Deripaska are unlawful, noting that they had taken a devastating toll on the businessman's work and livelihood.

The lawsuit also requests the US court to order the Treasury Department to disclose information justifying the sanctions against him.

On January 27, the Treasury Department lifted sanctions imposed on Rusal, EN+ Group and EuroSibEnergo after the three companies reduced Deripaska's ownership stakes in them while the sanctions against the businessman remained in force.

The United States introduced sanctions against Deripaska and dozens of other Russian individuals and entities in April 2018 over their alleged links to the Russian government, which Washington has accused of "malign activities." Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusation.