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The U.S. plans to search the millions of documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm for information about people who may have helped companies or individuals evade sanctions related to Russia's role in destabilizing Ukraine, a person familiar with the matter said, Bloomberg reported.
These people could be added to the U.S. Treasury Department's list of sanctioned parties, according to Bloomberg.
The Treasury could release a new list as early as June, which would coincide with the expected timing of the next vote by European Union countries on whether to extend their sanctions against Russia, matching the coordinated timing of the last two expansions, according to a report.
"Clearly this trove of documents has the potential to give OFAC [Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control] a number of leads and to help build the actual evidence" to support new designations, said Peter Harrell, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for counter-threat finance and sanctions. He added that he expected the EU to vote to extend sanctions against Russia for an additional six months, according to the report.
"The U.S. government intently focuses on investigating possible illicit activity, including violations of U.S. tax laws or sanctions, using all sources of information, both public and non-public," the Treasury said in an e-mailed statement provided for Bloomberg. OFAC uses publicly available information, law enforcement and intelligence sources, anonymous tips, and self-disclosures to detect and respond to potential sanctions violations, it added.
The leaked files show that at least $2 billion in transactions involved people and companies that had ties to Putin, according to reports published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Bloomberg writes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports as an attempt to destabilize Russia by discrediting Putin.