The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions today on two Russian intelligence officers who attempted to interfere in local American elections as part of Russia's "global malign influence operations." The department stated in a release that the two officers from the Russian Federal Security Service, Igor Sergeyevich Popov and Alexei Borisovich Sukhodolov, worked to undermine the democratic process in the United States and other countries through a network of conspirators collaborating with them.
The department noted that both had collaborated with Alexander Viktorovich Yunov, a Russian citizen who was accused by the Department of Justice last year of seeking for years to exploit political groups in Florida, Georgia, and California to interfere in elections. Treasury official Brian Nelson stated, "The United States will not tolerate threats to our democracy, and today's action is rooted in the government's comprehensive approach to protecting our representative government." The department did not specify which elections the two men are accused of attempting to influence the outcome of.
