Financial and economic sanctions imposed by United Kingdom on Russia in light of the invasion of Ukraine

JUNIOR LAWYERS DIVISION

Financial and economic sanctions imposed by United Kingdom on Russia in light of the invasion of Ukraine

The United Kingdom has taken toughest actions by way of introducing severe economic and financial sanctions against Russia, with the view to prevent the Russian President Vladimir Putin exacerbating his unjustified aggression towards Ukraine and his ability to fund the war.

His country’s military personnel have invaded Ukraine on 22 February 2022, attacking large cities by way of air strikes and destroying multiple houses, hospitals and schools resulting in loss of life of many innocent people, including children many of whom are now orphans. In view of the current situation, more than 4.5 million Ukrainians have left the country seeking refuge in their neighbouring States. Sadly, the war is still ongoing despite that many countries have united in their support for Ukraine and have expressed that President Putin should be held responsible for breaking the international law, though realistically he may never face any legal charges in spite of his barbaric actions.

The UK Government has published seven Regulations in relation to the sanctions it imposes against Russia, the latest one being the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 7) Regulations 2022 (as of 10 April 2022), which particularly focuses on the aviation sector and shipping sanctions. UK continues to apply its existing sanctions against Russia and new measures are regularly being introduced with little to no notice that seemingly have considerable impact on the Russian economy, until such time that Russia withdraws from Ukraine with an agreement to end the war and exhibit no further signs of aggression.

Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK has imposed a large number of financial and economic sanctions to punish President Putin for his brutal actions and deny him the opportunity to have access to resources that would enable him to fund the invasion and the war in Ukraine. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rushi Sunak expressed his view that these measures would “isolate the Russian economy from global trade” and place an “economic pressure on his regime”.

UK along with other countries such as Canada, the US and Japan have imposed sanctions to freeze all assets from all Russian banks which has led to a 40% fall of the Russian Rouble and the closure of the Russian stock market. This also means that measures have been put in place to prevent Russian companies borrowing money in the UK.

World-known companies, such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-Cola have ceased trading in Russia in light of their disproving of President Putin’s actions.

To further tighten the sanctions, the UK has effectively targeted wealthy individuals also known as oligarchs and has frozen their assets, as the UK Government considered that President Putin could potentially acquire funding and support for the war in Ukraine from these wealthy individuals and their businesses. For instance, Roman Abramovich who has very close ties to President Putin tried to sell his Chelsea Football Club, though he was sanctioned by the UK on the suspicion that the assets of the proceeds of the sale could likely be used to fund the invasion. The latest update is that the UK along with US have sanctioned President Putin’s daughters and the daughter of the foreign minister Sergei Lavrov by freezing their assets and adding travel ban, targeting the closest members of President Putin’s inner circle.

Despite the catastrophic impact of the measures imposed by the UK on Russia’s economy leading to a deep recession, there is no sign that President Putin is prepared to cease his invasion of Ukraine anytime soon. In fact, Russia has banned exports of multiple products and President Putin has also stated publicly that the nations who depend on the imports of Russian gas would have to pay for the imports in Russian roubles as a way to increase the value of the roubles.

One thing is certainly clear, we have all experienced the devastating impact of the war, particularly with the price inflation on essential household products and the rising costs of the electricity, gas and fuel. The UK is determined to introduce more sanctions on Russia, if necessary, in an effort to make it harder for Russia to sustain funding the war.

Martina Ignatova

Martina Ignatova

Trainee Solicitor

Amnesty Solicitors