(Bloomberg) — The U.S. the U.K. and the European Union hit Russia with more sanctions after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. The measures come amid concern Kyiv may fall in a matter of hours.
U.S.
The Treasury said would target “nearly 80 percent of all banking assets in Russia.” Read the full document here.
- Targets Russia’s two largest financial institutions, Public Joint Stock Company Sberbank of Russia, and VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company
- “Blocking sanctions” on three additional Russian banks: Otkritie, Novikom and Sovcom
- Debt and equity prohibitions against major state-owned and private entities
- New actions against a wider circle of Russian individuals close to Putin and part of the elite.
- Alexander Aleksandrovich Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman at Sberbank
- Andrey Sergeyevich Puchkov and Yuriy Alekseyevich Soloviev: two high-ranking executives at VTB
- The White House made clear it would try to prevent oil prices from spiking through a release of emergency reserves with international partners and by avoiding sanctions on energy transactions.
Read this next: Biden’s Own Aides Feared His Sanctions Wouldn’t Stop Putin
President Joe Biden, in his address to the nation, says SWIFT “is always an option, but right now that’s not the position the rest of Europe wishes to take.” Get more details about that here.
Here is what the first tranche of sanctions two days ago set out.
U.K.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled the U.K.’s biggest ever set of sanctions against Russia, targeting the country’s banks, billionaires and national air carrier in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
- An asset freeze against all major Russian banks, including an immediate freeze Thursday against VTB, Russia’s second largest bank
- Legislation to stop all major Russian companies from raising finance on U.K. markets, and also to prohibit the Russian state from raising sovereign debt on U.K. markets. The new law will come into force Tuesday
- Sanctions on more than 100 individuals, entities and their subsidiaries, including Rostec, Russia’s biggest defense company. Wealthy individuals include:
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia’s youngest billionaire and Putin’s former son-in-law
- Petr Fradkov, head of Promsvyazbank (itself already sanctioned) and son of former head of FSB
- Denis Bortnikov, deputy president of VTB
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corp.
- Elena Georgieva, chair of the board of Novicom Bank
- Imminent ban on Aeroflot planes landing in the U.K.
- Immediate ban on all exports of goods that could have military use, such as electrical components and truck parts
- Legislation within days to prohibit a range of hi-tech exports such as semiconductors and aircraft parts as well as goods for the extractive industries, such as oil refinery equipment
- Limit deposits by Russian nationals in U.K. bank accounts to 50,000 pounds ($67,000)
- All sanctions also apply to Belarus
- Accelerate passage of an economic crime bill to target illicit Russian money in the U.K.
The EU
Leaders in an emergency meeting that dragged past midnight in Brussels backed a broad sanctions package, according to people familiar with the matter.
- They target some banks and ibroaden sanctions on individuals, as well as criteria to target wealthy Russian oligarchs, and tighten visa rules for diplomats, making asset freezes and travel bans more effective
- Two additional Russian banks — Alfa Bank and Bank Otkritie — would be added to the list of financial institutions prohibited from borrowing or buying securities.
- Stop financial inflows from Russia into the EU by imposing limits on bank deposits and bar Russians from investing in EU securities
- In one of the strongest elements of the package, the EU has worked in lockstep with the U.S. to introduce export controls on dual-use and high-tech goods, with a particular focus on electronics, computers, telecom and information security, sensors and lasers and marine applications
- The proposal also includes an export ban on aircraft, aircraft parts and related equipment, as well as a ban on the sale of equipment and technology needed to update Russian oil refineries to modern environmental standards.
(Adds EU)
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