On 8 October, the UK imposed 38 new sanctions against Russia. The restrictions targeted two oil companies, 12 «shadow fleet» tankers, cryptocurrency exchanges and payment platforms, as well as suppliers of goods to the Russian military-industrial complex. The package was announced by the British Foreign Office during a visit to Ukraine by the Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband.
Briefly about the main points
- «Zarubezhneft» and INK Capital have been added to the list.
- More than 600 vessels belonging to the «shadow fleet» are subject to British sanctions.
- The financial sector comprised three cryptocurrency exchanges and two payment platforms.
- The sanctions have been imposed on 17 individuals and companies linked to the defence industry.
- The list comprises 26 entries relating to individuals and organisations and 12 vessel designations.
Oil companies and export revenues
The Russian companies «Zarubezhneft» and INK Capital have been added to the UK sanctions list. The government the United Kingdom It was noted that the companies are involved in the extraction and trade of Russian oil; the restrictions are intended to make it more difficult for firms that were not previously subject to sanctions to continue their oil operations.
According to London’s estimates, following this expansion, more than 90% of Russia’s total oil production capacity has come under British restrictions. The UK was previously the first among nations to G7 has imposed sanctions on the four largest Russian oil companies.
A further 12 tankers from the «shadow fleet» have been added to the list»
The new package also targeted 12 oil tankers which the British authorities classify as part of Russia’s «shadow fleet». Following this, the number of such vessels subject to UK sanctions exceeded 600.
The British Foreign Office has reported that these tankers are often in service for over 20 years, use opaque registration schemes, change flags and conceal information about their routes. At the same time, London is seeking to restrict the organisations that arrange the transport and logistics of Russian oil.
Financial restrictions on crypto exchanges and payment services
Three cryptocurrency exchanges, two payment platforms and an individual linked to them have been subject to restrictions. Three of the financial institutions on the list are linked to Kyrgyzstan.
According to the British government, two sanctioned entities carried out or facilitated transactions linked to the A7 network, which London describes as a tool for circumventing international financial sanctions. Last year, A7 reported transactions totalling over $90 billion; however, this figure is the network’s own estimate rather than an independently verified assessment of the transactions.
Suppliers of machine tools, electronics and materials for the defence industry
Seventeen individuals and legal entities linked to the international supply of goods to the Russian military-industrial complex have been added to the sanctions list. These include Russian importers of machine tools, electronics and materials that could be used in the manufacture of ballistic missiles and drones.
These are products in the ‘Common High Priority’ category, which the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union consider to be of critical importance to Russian military production. A citizen of one of the European states has also been added to the list due to links with a company that exported machine tools to Russia via intermediaries.
The package has already been added to the UK sanctions lists
As of 8 October, the restrictions had been added to the UK’s official sanctions lists. The government clarified that the package contains 26 new sanctions entries relating to individuals and organisations, and 12 separate sanctions designations for vessels.
The Russian Embassy in London has criticised the British Government’s decision. As reported by Reuters, citing RIA Novosti, the embassy claimed that London’s approach was allegedly ineffective.
