Sanctions against Russia
22 Commons Library Research Briefing, 22 March 2023
A full asset freeze was also imposed on Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, and
the Credit Bank of Moscow on 6 April 2022. Sberbank was already prohibited
from clearing payments in Sterling (see above).
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On 26 September the UK sanctioned 49 individuals on the management
boards of Gazprombank, Sberbank and Sovcombank.
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In February 2023, the UK sanctioned a further four Russian banks including
MTS, St Petersburg Bank, Uralsib Bank and Zenit Bank, to "further isolate
Russia from the international financial system and help the UK and partners
to prevent circumvention".
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Cryptocurrencies
General guidance from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation
(OFSI) makes clear that "crypto assets are an economic resource, and as such
are caught by financial sanctions regulations". As such, "attempting to
circumvent sanctions using crypto assets is still prohibited in the same way
that it would be for any traditional flat currency".
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Obtaining finance from multilateral institutions
In a statement on 11 March the countries of the G7, including the UK, said that
they would collectively work toward preventing Russia from obtaining finance
from leading multilateral institutions, including the International Monetary
Fund, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development. The G7 argue that "Russia cannot grossly violate international
law and expect to benefit from being part of the international economic
order".
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UK outward investment in Russia
On 6 April the Government announced an outright ban on all new UK
investment in Russia. The Government estimates that, in 2020, UK investment
in Russia was worth over £11 billion.
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• Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No.12) Regulations 2022
Restrictions on the export of banknotes
In July 2022 legislation was introduced prohibiting the export, supply or
delivery to Russia, or a person connected with Russia, of banknotes
denominated in Sterling or any official currency of the EU.
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HM Treasury, Financial Sanctions Notice, 6 April 2022
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Press release, 26 September 2022
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Press release, 24 February 2023
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HM Treasury, Financial sanctions: general guidance (PDF)
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G7 statement, 11 March 2022
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Press release, 6 April 2022
