i suspect the "reports" on sirotkin's backing comes from the fact that he's backed by smp racing this year - who are funded by one of the gentlemen on the sanctions list. lots of toys being slung around about their wec and elms teams and the potential impact on their participation in the championships at the moment. it'd depend how much involvement they had in securing his sauber position, and how much sauber depend on their contributions (obviously).
here's a link to the smp racing statement on dsc - i kind of think they have a point about non-commercial activities, but on the other hand they are somewhat inextricably linked...
http://www.dailysportscar.com/?p=27367
mod note: if we can keep this within the realms of motorsport rather than politics that would be lovely. thanks 