MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of Russian company Vela-Marine Ltd, targeted on Tuesday by U.S. sanctions for allegedly helping another Russian company circumvent sanctions, said he did not understand why his firm was being designated.

Speaking to Reuters by telephone, Andrei Kuklin, head of the Saint Petersburg-based Vela-Marine Ltd, said: “Unfortunately I cannot comment. I don’t understand what the problem is.”

The U.S. Treasury said in a statement that Vela-Marine Ltd had allegedly helped a Russian company called Divetechnoservices -- hit by sanctions in June for procuring underwater equipment and diving systems for Russian government agencies, including Russia’s FSB intelligence agency -- evade those sanctions.