Over 1,000 Russian individuals and entities hit with UK sanctions

More oligarchs hit as high-end fashion, art and cars are targeted

More than 1,000 individuals and other entities have been hit with sanctions by the UK since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced on Tuesday, as the British government ratcheted up the economic pressure on the Russian President’s regime.

Ms Truss announced that a further 370 Russian oligarchs and their family members along with close political allies of President Putin, and what the Foreign Office described as “propagandists”, had been hit by sanctions.

They take the total number of individuals sanctioned by the UK since the Ukrainian invasion on February 24 to 775. New names added to the list on Tuesday included Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.

Oligarchs added included Mickhail Fridman, founder of Alfa Bank, the largest private bank in Russia, who is worth an estimated £11.9 billion. Petr Aven, former President of Alfa Bank, whose wealth is estimated at £4 billion was also sanctioned along with Alexey Mordascho, who the Foreign Office said was part of Russia’s richest family and a majority shareholder in steel company Severstal.

In addition the Internet Research Agency, a ‘troll farm’ set up to push disinformation, was targeted while Mr Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov and Russian Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova were also sanctioned.

Ms Truss said: “We are going further and faster than ever in hitting those closest to Putin – from major oligarchs, to his Prime Minister, and the propagandists who peddle his lies and disinformation. We are holding them to account for their complicity in Russia’s crimes in Ukraine. Working closely with our allies, we will keep increasing the pressure on Putin and cut off funding for the Russian war machine.”

Boris Johnson listens as Volodymyr Zelensky addresses by video link leaders attending a meeting of the leaders of the the Joint Expeditionary Force
AP

As the Russian president’s brutal invasion of Ukraine entered its 20th day, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the UK would halt the sale of luxury cars, high-end fashion and expensive works of art as well as imposing a 35 percentage-point tariff hike on £900 million-worth of imported Russian goods, including vodka.

“We want to cause maximum harm to Putin’s war machine while minimising the impact on UK businesses as G7 leaders unite to unleash a fresh wave of economic sanctions on Moscow,” the UK said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

Mr Sunak added: “These new measures will further tighten the growing economic pressure on Russia and ensure the UK acts in line with sanctions imposed by our allies.”

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The announcement of sanctions comes comes after a new law to tackle dirty money in the UK was passed by MPs late on Monday night.

The Economic Crime Act will establish a new register of overseas entities requiring foreign owners of property in Britain to declare who is behind anonymous shell companies.

The legislation also makes it easier for Britain to match sanctions imposed by the United States, EU and other allies such as Australia.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is seen in a VIP lounge at Ben Gurion international airport in Israel
REUTERS

The move came as Brussels unveiled a new package of sanctions and trade restrictions which will have an even bigger impact on Moscow because the EU does more business with Russia.

Following a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday night, the European Commission confirmed on Tuesday it was introducing further sweeping economic measures to hit Mr Putin’s regime.

They included:

  • A full prohibition of any transactions with certain Russian state-owned enterprises across different sectors — the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex.
  • An EU import ban on those steel products currently under EU safeguard measures, amounting to around €3.3 billion in lost export revenue for Russia.
  • A far-reaching ban on new investment across the Russian energy sector, with limited exceptions for civil nuclear energy and the transport of certain energy products back to the EU.
  • An EU export ban on luxury goods like cars and jewellery to “directly hit Russian elites”.
  • An expansion to the list of sanctioned people and entities to include more oligarchs and business elites linked to the Kremlin, as well as companies active in military and defence areas.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: “This will further cripple Putin’s ability to finance this unjustified war. The EU and its partners will keep up the pressure on the Kremlin until it stops the invasion of Ukraine.”

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