Jack Hunnick, former director of US network Fox News, spent years helping a Russian tycoon under US sanctions build a television “empire” to his advantage. Kremlinraising suspicions of violation of the law by the American in question.

But in spite of all this, for most of the previous decade, the Justice Department USA he does not appear to have considered Khanik a particularly important target, at least not enough to justify the charge against him.

“Turn” of the US Department of Justice

But the fate of Hanik — and many others long suspected of violating U.S. laws — began to change in the fall of 2021.

At a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin was preparing his troops for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States secretly indicted Hanik. Just weeks before the first Russian missiles were fired into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, US officials secretly orchestrated Hanik’s arrest in the UK.

On March 2, 2022, the US Department of Justice unveiled its main “weapon” for enforcing sanctions against Russia: Task Force Kleptocapture. The very next day, the ministry trumpeted that Konstantin Malofeev, the Russian oligarch who allegedly hired Ganik, had also been charged.

The choice of this particular moment was clearly intended to signal that the US is now acting directly against those who supported Russia’s war in Ukraine. At the same time, however, many were left wondering why the US did not prosecute these individuals sooner.

Prosecution Delays

Russia already faced US sanctions when it first invaded and annexed Crimea and other territories in 2014. It was a series of sanctions designed to deter further aggression from Moscow.

Some critics argue that if there were more prosecutions, it could have kept Putin from invading in 2022.

Questions about the timing of cases were raised in Politico’s assessment of the US Department of Justice’s enforcement of sanctions, export controls, and other sanctions against Russia.

The analysis shows that while Washington has imposed numerous sanctions on Russia since 2014, the Obama and Trump administrations’ Justice Departments have not prioritized Russian-related prosecutions. 2022.

“Psychology of Appeasement”

Politico’s findings reinforce the view of those who argue that Washington — and the West in general — has long been complacency towards Russia, especially in Ukraine.

“There has been a whole psychology of appeasement for a long time,” says Bill Browder, a British economist who has championed a tougher US approach to the Kremlin. “For those who are familiar with the situation, it is clear that Putin is probably 95% responsible for the invasion of Ukraine, but 5% of the blame lies with us that we did not do something earlier.”

On the other hand, those who support the Justice Department’s decisions reject the idea that the US prosecution could change Putin’s plans.

However, former US prosecutors said they faced hurdles due to a lack of cooperation from other countries – even allies like the UK – when they wanted to prosecute.

But many former US officials, including several former prosecutors, also believe that imposing sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine was not a top priority for the US Justice Department or the country’s presidents until last year.

^{Source: Politico}