The United States hit seven Russian oligarchs and 17 Russian government officials with sanctions on Friday for what it called 'malign activity' around the world, as the Trump administration tried to show that President Donald Trump is taking tough action to stand up to Moscow.

A dozen Russian companies owned by the oligarchs were also targeted, along with a state-owned arms-dealing company and a subsidiary bank, the Treasury Department said.

Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, one of Britain's best known oligarchs, is among those accused by the White House of 'directly or indirectly' acting on behalf of the Kremlin.

Raising the stakes: Senior Trump officials cast the penalties as part of a concerted and ongoing effort by the U.S. to push back against Russian President Vladimir Putin's government and his inner circle

Industry bigs: Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate whose Rusal is one of the country's biggest companies and who has ties to ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort is being hit, as is Gazprom CEO Alexi Miller

Mr Deripaska, 50, hosted George Osborne for drinks on his yacht in 2008, sparking accusations the ex-chancellor was canvassing him for donations to the Conservative Party coffers. Osborne denies these accusations.

The Russian has featured prominently in US prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation over his ties to former chairman of the Trump campaign, Paul Manafort.

He has also been accused illegal wiretapping, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, and death threats against business rivals.

Shares in his energy company En+ dropped 19 per cent on the London Stock Exchange after the sanctions were announced.

Senior administration officials have cast the penalties as part of a concerted and ongoing effort by the U.S. to push back Russian President Vladimir Putin's government and his inner circle, emphasizing that since Trump took office last year, the U.S. has punished 189 Russian-related people and entities with sanctions.

Trump has continued to avoid directly criticizing Putin himself, and recently invited the Russian leader to meet with him, possibly at the White House.

Pout of order: Kiril Shamalov, who is believed to be married to Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova, is one of those facing new sanctions

Friends and allies: Igor Rotenberg's father is one of Putin's oldest friends while Andrey Kostin heads Russia's second-largest bank, VTB, which is controlled by the state

Still, in recent weeks Trump's administration has rolled out a series of actions - including several economic and diplomatic steps - to increase pressure on Putin and those in his circle.

'Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have,' Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Rather than punishing Russia for one specific action, the new sanctions are in response to 'the totality of the Russian government's ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern' of bad behavior, said the officials, who weren't authorized to comment by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them.

It was not clear whether any of those hit have significant, or any, holdings that would be covered and most of them were warned of possible penalties in January when they were identified as possible targets on lists published by the Treasury and State departments.

The administration officials said Americans who may currently have business with them would be given guidance about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.

The officials ticked through a list of activities they said had prompted the U.S. to act, including Russia's annexation of Crimea, backing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, cyber-hacking and attempts to subvert Western democracy.

There was no immediate reaction from Russia's government.

Many of the targets are individuals and businesses associated with Russia's energy sector, including those affiliated with state-owned Gazprom.

Officials said the goal was to show that those who have benefited financially from Putin's position of power are fair game for U.S. punishments, noting that many of those being sanctioned are closely tied to Putin himself.

Targets include:

Kirill Shamalov, who is reportedly Putin's son-in-law, married to his daughter Katerina Tikhonova, although neither Putin nor the Kremlin have acknowledged that she is his daughter.

Igor Rotenberg, the son of Arkady Rotenberg, a friend of Putin's since they were teenagers.

Andrey Kostin, named among government officials, heads the nation's second-largest bank, VTB, which is controlled by the state.

Alexei Miller, the longtime head of the state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant. Both Miller and Kostin are longtime key members of Putin's team.

Victim: Sergei Skripal, a Russian who spied for Britain. was poisoned with a nerve gas agent which the British government concluded was an act of the Russian government, prompting tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats. His daughter Yulia (left) was also left seriously ill

On their way home: Russian diplomats kicked out of the U.S. were picked up by government bus in Moscow on Sunday, while later in the week American embassy staff flew back to the U.S.

Other oligarchs on the list include some top names on the Forbes' list of billionaires, aren't part of Putin's inner circle but like any other billionaire tycoons in Russia they vie for the Kremlin's attention to preserve and extend their business empires.

Many of the Russian oligarchs and politicians and affiliated businesses had already been identified by the Treasury and State Department as potential targets on a list that was compiled and published in January.

One of those hit by Friday's sanctions, Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council's foreign affairs committee, expressed surprise he had not already been blacklisted by the U.S.

'As far as I am concerned the only thing I'm surprised at is that this didn't happen earlier,' he told the Interfax news agency. 'I never made secret of my criticism of the U.S. foreign policy, and I will not change my stance.'

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them.

But the administration said it would give guidance to Americans who may currently have business with them about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.

The Trump administration used a variety of legal mechanisms to implement the sanctions, including the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

Known as CAATSA, the law was overwhelmingly passed by Congress in 2017 and signed by President Donald Trump despite some objections.

The law aims to punish Russia for interfering in the U.S. election as well as actions intended to subvert democracy in Europe.

The law also authorizes the president to impose sanctions on Iran for destabilizing activity in the Middle East and North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Last month, the U.S. targeted 19 Russians and five other entities with sanctions in the first use of the law. The administration has also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian consulates in response to Russian behavior, including the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain that has been blamed on Moscow.