"New US Sanctions Target Russian Corruption in Guatemala’s Mining Sector" 23 November 2022

"This Nov. 18 wave of sanctions targeted Dmitry Kudryakov and Iryna Litviniuk for allegedly leading bribery and corruption schemes in Guatemala to protect Russian mining interests, as well as Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN), ProNiCo and Mayaníquel, which are subsidiaries of the Swiss-based Solway Investment Group.

Both Kudryakov, a Russian citizen, and Litviniuk, a Belarusian, hold management positions in the Solway Group and are accused of bribing politicians, judges and government officials to advance Russian mining interests.

Litviniuk allegedly “conducted corrupt acts in furtherance of Russian influence peddling schemes by unlawfully giving cash payments to public officials in exchange for support for Russian mining interests,” read the statement from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Solway Group issued a press release hours after the U.S. announcement and denied the allegations. It stated that Solway’s subsidiaries were not controlled by Kudryakov or Litviniuk and affirmed that it is not “a Russian company and does not have any business relations with Russia.”

However, leaked documents showed that Solway’s subsidiaries have economic ties to a Russian-owned mining company accused of bribing Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei...."