Congressman Latest to Request Treasury Impose Magnitsky Sanctions on Kuwait

Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., joined four House members in asking Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to look into possible Global Magnitsky sanctions against Kuwait. The Sept. 27 letter, posted by Crowell & Moring, asks Mnuchin to investigate Kuwait after the conviction and imprisonment of Maria Lazareva, a Russian businesswoman who was accused of embezzlement. Lazareva’s conviction was nullified by a Kuwait court after she served a year in prison.

Bilirakis said Lazareva is being wrongfully detained in Kuwait and was convicted on the testimony “of a single witness, who has since been convicted of forging the documents used against her.” Bilirakis said Kuwait’s actions constitute human rights abuses and should be investigated under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

Reps. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, also sent letters to Mnuchin.