Guatemala has deprived a residence permit of a Russian citizen who fell under US sanctions. A

residence permit has also been deprived of a citizen of Belarus, Irina Litvinyuk. She and Russian citizen Dmitry Kudryakov were banned from entering the country. On November 18, the US imposed sanctions against them.under the "Magnitsky Act" "for the role in the operation of the mining sector"Guatemala

The Guatemalan Institute of Migration deprived Russian citizen Dmitry Kudryakov and Belarusian citizen Irina Litvinyuk of a residence permit and banned them from entering the country. The corresponding statement was published on the department's Twitter page.

“In pursuance of the decision of the National Security Council <...>, given that they left the national territory, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration informed the National Migration Directorate of the non-admission of these people and the suspension of the residence permits of Mr. Dmitry Kudryakov and Ms. Irina Litvinyuk,” the statement says. document.

The United States imposed sanctions against another Russian under the "Magnitsky Act" Politics

Earlier, on November 18, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Kudryakov and Litvinyuk "for their role in the exploitation of the mining sector in Guatemala." They came under restrictions in accordance with the "Magnitsky Act" on sanctions against Russians and citizens of other countries involved, according to Washington, in human rights violations and "corruption around the world."

Three Guatemalan companies also fell under the sanctions - Compania Guatemalteca de Niquel, Compania Procesadora de Niquel and Mayaniquel. The Ministry of Finance considered them to be subsidiaries of the Solway group. The latter department calls the Russian company. Kudryakov and Litvinyuk, according to the ministry, are associated with these organizations. Mayaniquel denied any connection with Solway and the citizens who fell under the sanctions.

RBC sent inquiries to Compania Guatemalteca de Niquel ProNiCo and Mayaniquel.

Solway Investment Group is a privately held mining and metals group headquartered in Switzerland. Its assets are located in Guatemala, Macedonia, Indonesia and Ukraine. The company's website states that Solway is "the world's largest private nickel producer." In Guatemala, the company is engaged in the Phoenix project, which includes a nickel mine, a plant and an associated power plant.

Solway Investment Group was founded by a native of Estonia, Alexander Bronstein, who was also a key shareholder of the group. Now the board of directors of the company is headed by entrepreneur Dan Bronstein.

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Pronico, a subsidiary of Solway Investment Group, is responsible for the Phoenix project. As of 2021, Kudryakov was its president, writes Associated Press. The company owns a nickel mine on the shores of Lake Izabal, the largest in Guatemala, from which indigenous peoples fish. In the spring of 2017, local fishermen noticed that part of the lake had turned red. The fishermen took to the protests and demanded an explanation from the authorities. As a result, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Guatemala concluded that the pollution was due to algal blooms. Then a group of fishermen, together with the guild of hoteliers, requested an independent study from a German institute, which found that the reservoir was polluted with nickel, and the maximum permissible concentration of the metal was exceeded several times relative to the norms adopted in Germany.

In February 2022, representatives of more than 12 indigenous communities filed a lawsuit against the state in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) demanding the closure of the mine.