Due to OFAC sanctions, on 6 December 2015, Ilyumzhinov withdrew from any legal, financial and business operations of FIDE until such time as he is removed from the OFAC list but he remains in control of FIDE. In a subsequent interview, he said the USA sanctions were either a mistake or a provocation, with his lawyers planning to file a US$50 billion lawsuit, based on their estimated damages. Previously in June 2014, Ilyuzmhinov had noted that his name was floating around concerning sanctions regarding Ukraine.