WASHINGTON - The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced its decision to sanction five entities and 19 individuals, accusing them of having interfered with the 2016 US elections and engaged in "malicious" cyber attacks.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said "the administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure."

"These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia," he said.

In an announcement, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the entities and individuals were designated under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) as well as Executive Order 13694.

"Treasury intends to impose additional CAATSA sanctions," Mnuchin said.

The announcement also said that since at least March 2016, Russian "government cyber actors" have targeted US government entities and multiple critical infrastructure sectors.

It also said that Russia was behind the recent use of a "military-grade nerve agent" to "murder" two British citizens, but Russia denied its involvement in the incident.

As a result of Thursday's sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons subject to US jurisdiction would be blocked, and US persons were generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

The United States has been accusing Russia of interference in the US presidential elections in 2016 and involvement in hacker attacks against the United States, which have been denied by Russia.