The U.S. Department of the Treasury has added controversial Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach to its list of sanctioned individuals for acting in the interests of Russia and threatening the 2020 presidential election in the United States.
Three other Russia-linked individuals were sanctioned for attempting to influence the election, according to the Treasury statement released on Sept. 9.
The U.S. called Derkach “an active Russian agent” and said that he directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed or was complicit in foreign interference in U.S. domestic affairs.
“Andriy Derkach and other Russian agents employ manipulation and deceit to attempt to influence elections in the United States and elsewhere around the world,” said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin.
The sanctions will freeze all property and interests in property that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction and belong to the targeted individuals.
Attacks on Biden
Earlier in August, U.S. Intelligence also accused Derkach of attempting to interfere in the upcoming election.
In the past year, the Ukrainian lawmaker has pushed outlandish conspiracy theories aimed at damaging the reputation of former U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.
Derkach also met with U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, in December. Giuliani has actively advanced unfounded conspiracy theories accusing Biden of engaging in corruption in Ukraine.
According to the Treasury Department statement from Sept. 9, Derkach spread his narratives via Western media or used pro-Russian lobbyists in the U.S. to propagate his claims.
For example, he hired the former Ukrainian parliamentarian Andrii Artemenko and lobbyist Nabil Bader to represent him in Washington. In August, they stopped representing Derkach’s interests.
The Ukrainian lawmaker also published audio tapes aimed at discrediting Biden.
In May, Derkach released recordings allegedly featuring phone conversations between Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko — the first of several such releases.
Besides accusing Biden of corruption, Derkach made unsubstantiated claims that American financier and philanthropist George Soros exerted undue influence over the Ukrainian government under Poroshenko.
However, the recordings were heavily edited and did not contain any hard evidence supporting the claims Derkach made.
Russian ties
A long-standing Ukrainian lawmaker, Derkach formerly represented the pro-Russian Party of Regions of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted by the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution. Currently, he does not represent any party.
From 1990-1993, Derkach studied in Moscow at the Academy of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, formerly known as the Higher School of the KGB.
Derkach’s father, Leonid Derkach, a former Soviet KGB agent, served as the chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in 1998-2001.
