10
Defeating Putin: the development, implementation and impact of economic sanctions on Russia
- Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS), Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told us that certain banks were still “untouched” because of the requirement for energy payments to continue to flow.”[1]
Self-sanctioning
- Since the start of the invasion, UK-based companies have announced an intention to divest from Russian investments[2], close their Russian operations[3] or cease to trade with Russian firms.[4] Tony Danker, Director-General at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), describing the scale of this exodus, told us that “Everybody has been digesting this incredibly quickly, but on the whole, I think people universally have been saying that it is time to find ways to get out of Russia”.[5]
- Mr Keatinge noted this short-term response of firms to sanctions but suggested that
this could change for some firms as uncertainty reduces:
I think that we all agree that there is quite a lot of self-sanctioning [ ... ] People are deciding not to trade with Russia, not because they are not allowed to, but because they are just not quite sure what on Earth to do right now. There will come a point where that stasis in the system will begin to melt, and we must ensure that people understand what is and is not allowed, very clearly, at that point.[6]
- However, Mr Danker, when asked whether this self-sanctioning was a longer-term
process of divestment and distancing of business in Russia, told us:
[ ... ] I do not think companies are trying to make long-term calculations about when this war might end or otherwise. I think they have made that calculation; they have made that judgment; and now they are seeking to exit the market.[7]
Measures against Russian kleptocrats and oligarchs
- The UK Government has implemented sanctions against individuals associated with the Russian government.[8] Such sanctions have included asset freezes, prohibitions on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, travel bans and transport sanctions.[9] A recent example of this was the designation on 10 March of Roman Abramovich, where the Government noted that “He is one of the few oligarchs from the 1990s to maintain prominence under Putin”.[10] Over 370 further individuals were sanctioned on 15 March
- ↑ Q3
- ↑ BP, BP to exit Rosneft shareholding, 27 February 2022, accessed 15 March 2022
- ↑ Linklaters, Update on Linklaters’ Russia-related work, 4 March 2022, accessed 15 March 2022
- ↑ BBC, Supermarkets remove Russian vodka from shelves, 4 March 2022, accessed 15 March 2022
- ↑ Q119
- ↑ Q42
- ↑ Q117
- ↑ Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated list of financial sanctions targets in the UK, last updated 15 March 2022, accessed 15 March 2022
- ↑ FCDO, Press release: Abramovich and Deripaska among 7 oligarchs targeted in estimated £15 billion sanction hit, 10 March 2022, accessed 15 March 2022
- ↑ FCDO, Press release: Abramovich and Deripaska among 7 oligarchs targeted in estimated £15 billion sanction hit, 10 March 2022, accessed 15 March 2022