U.S. slaps sanctions on Putin cronies for Russia's 'malign activity'

A combination of file photos show prominent Russian businessmen and officials on a U.S. sanctions list released by the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. April 6, 2018. (Top, L-R) Oleg Deripaska, Vladimir Bogdanov, Suleiman Kerimov, Kirill Shamalov, Viktor Vekselberg, (middle L-R) Mikhail Fradkov, Sergei Fursenko, Alexei Dyumin, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Konstantin Kosachev, (bottom, L-R) Andrei Kostin, Alexei Miller, Nikolai Patrushev, Vladimir Ustinov, Viktor Zolotov. REUTERS/Files

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed major sanctions on Friday against 24 Russians, striking at allies of President Vladimir Putin in one of Washington's most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and other "malign activity."

The action, taken under pressure from the U.S. Congress, freezes the U.S. assets of oligarchs such as aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, a close associate of Putin, and lawmaker Suleiman Kerimov, whose family controls Russia's largest gold producer, Polyus .