The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department announced the exclusion of Kirill Astrakhan from the sanctions list. He was sanctioned in 2024, holding the position of Director of Corporate Business at Kaspersky Lab, along with 11 other colleagues who were also included on the sanctions list.
Kaspersky Lab is a global company operating in over 220 countries and territories with 34 offices in more than 35 countries. The company produces cybersecurity solutions and services, and in 2024 the US Department of Defense determined that the products and services provided by Kaspersky and its corporate affiliates pose an unacceptable threat to the national security of US citizens. Furthermore, the Department of Commerce designated Kaspersky as a partner for cooperation with Russian military and intelligence agencies.
In addition to Astrakhan, Nikita Alexandrovich Sobolev, a resident of Malta and the owner of a Russian passport, was excluded from the sanctions list. Sobolev was considered to be the director of Malberg Ltd., a Malta-based company involved in the acquisition of dual-use equipment for end users in Russia. Malberg was part of a procurement network headed by Serniya Engineering LLC, based in Moscow.
