Expansion of UK sanctions regime against Russia announced

Vladislav Zabrodin, Managing Partner, Capital Legal Services (Great Britain):

British foreign secretary Liz Truss states there are plans to impose sanctions on certain Russian elites and their families to “cut them off from the international financial system and ensure that they and their family members will no longer be able to enjoy the perks of parking their money in the west and attending elite western universities.” No names were given intentianally so as to leave everyone guessing and to “create the maximum anxiety among Putin’s allies.” 

The sanctions come as another step in Britain’s plans for a potential turn of events where Russia invades Ukraine. There are currently 180 Russians and 48 companies under UK sanctions, most of them included in the sanctions lists due to their purported connections to destabilization in Ukraine.

“This will amount to the toughest sanctions regime against Russia we have had in place yet, and mark the biggest change in our approach since leaving the European Union,” Truss is reported as saying.

The position stated is quite severe, particularly if taking into account the number of assets and family members residing in or having close ties to the UK. This might include not just oligarchs, but officials and their family members. And this is where a natural question occurs from the Soviet past: must children bear punishment for their parents?

We should note, however, that politicians are there to make statements. And it is likely that the English court system, if such sanctions are imposed, will be more humane and aligned with the law than the Soviet courts in the past. 

More information: The Guardian.