BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union on Friday blacklisted Aleksandra Melnichenko, the spouse of Andrey Melnichenko, a beforehand sanctioned Russian billionaire who Reuters revealed had reassigned his firms to her in a bid to include the enterprise injury.

The sixth spherical of EU sanctions in opposition to Russia for waging a conflict in opposition to Ukraine took impact on Friday, together with an embargo on most oil imports and eradicating Russia’s prime lender Sberbank from the worldwide SWIFT system.

Reuters reported that Melnichenko ceded possession of two of the world’s largest coal and fertilizers firms – SUEK and EuroChem – to his spouse Aleksandra on March 8, the day earlier than the EU sanctioned him.

“Aleksandra Melnichenko takes good benefit of the fortune and advantages from the wealth of her husband. Along with him, she owns two penthouses with a price of greater than 30 million {dollars},” the EU mentioned in explaining its determination.

“In March 2022, Aleksandra Melnichenko changed her husband because the helpful proprietor of Firstline Belief, managed by Linetrust PTC (NASDAQ:) Ltd, an organization which represents the final word proprietor of EuroChem Group.”

The possession construction of the 2 firms runs via a sequence of trusts and firms stretching from Moscow and the Swiss city of Zug to Cyprus and Bermuda, in line with authorized filings reviewed by Reuters.

A spokesperson for EuroChem mentioned the corporate had no fast touch upon Friday. A lawyer for the Melnichenko couple and a spokesperson for SUEK didn’t reply to messages searching for remark in regards to the EU transfer.

On Friday, the EU additionally blacklisted two kids and the spouse of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov because the bloc seeks to tighten its punitive measures in opposition to Russia.