Netflix, Blackrock CEOs among those newly sanctioned by Russia
Summary
- Bosses are sanctioned by Moscow after raft of economic measures taken against officials and oligarchs by the West
A handful of prominent American CEOs, including BlackRock Inc.’s Larry Fink and the bosses at Delta Air Lines Inc., Netflix Inc. and Universal Pictures, have landed on a fresh list of sanctions Russia has imposed in retaliation for blistering economic restrictions the West has rolled out against Moscow.
The U.S., U.K. and the European Union have issued sanctions on a widening array of entities and individuals they say are complicit in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or are close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. That has included a long list of Russian officials, legislators and military officers. Governments have also targeted Russian billionaire business people and friends and family of Mr. Putin. The individual sanctions vary widely by capital, but typically involve travel restrictions and asset freezes.
In response, Moscow has rolled out its own list of sanctioned Western officials. Late Monday, it added a number of prominent American business leaders. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that it would impose sanctions on dozens of U.S. nationals in what it said was a response to “the ever-expanding U.S. sanctions against Russian political and public figures, as well as representatives of domestic businesses."
The Kremlin said the named individuals would be included on its so-called “stop list," which means a ban on their travel to Russia for an indefinite period. It didn’t provide further details about what the sanctions entailed, or specifically why it was targeting those it named. In some cases, it included leaders of companies that have pulled out of Russia in the wake of the invasion, or that have taken other action that Moscow criticized at the time.
For instance, the Foreign Ministry included Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings on the list. About a year before the war, Netflix entered the Russian market. Shortly after the invasion, however, it said it wouldn’t allow any Russia channels on the service, as required by new Russian regulation. It later halted its service in Russia altogether. Netflix representatives weren’t immediately available to comment.
The CEOs of Delta and United Airlines Holdings Inc. both made the list, too. Western nations have banned Russian airliners from entering their airspace. Within days of the ban, Delta abandoned its code-sharing agreement with Russia flag carrier Aeroflot, and all three main U.S. carriers stopped flying over Russian airspace. Representatives for the airlines weren’t immediately available for comment.
Universal Pictures President Peter Cramer was also sanctioned. The studio, like others, said it would pause its release of movies in Russia in response to the invasion. Representatives for Comcast Corp.’s NBC Universal weren’t immediately available to comment. A representative for BlackRock also wasn’t immediately available to comment on the sanctioning of Mr. Fink.
The list of 61 Americans published by the ministry late Monday evening also included U.S. administration officials and former heads of other large U.S. corporations. Among officials facing sanctions are Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield. A representative of the U.S. government wasn’t immediately available for comment.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
