The British government on Friday published its revised sanctions list, targeting a total of 86 businesses and individuals connected to Russia’s capacity to fund the war in Ukraine.
The list does not contain any new Cyprus-based entities or Cypriot individuals.
“The 86 designations target individuals and organisations connected to Russia’s energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors – ramping up pressure on Putin’s remaining revenue and attempts to use these sectors to support the military machine,” the UK Foreign Office said.
The new sanctions build on the UK’s recent measures against Russia, including the ban on every item used on the battlefield in Ukraine, and designations to crack down on financial fixers and oligarch enablers announced on April 12, which included Cyprus-based entities and Cypriot citizens.
Sanctions starving Russia of military capacity, UK says
“Sanctions by the UK and G7 partners are starving Russia’s military of key Western components and technology, restricting its ability to fight a 21st-century war,” the Foreign Office said, noting that 96% of UK-Russia goods trade, compared to 2021, has been sanctioned.
Moreover, around 60% of Putin’s ‘war chest’ of foreign reserves has been immobilised – worth £275 billion, the Foreign Office stressed.
“Through today’s new sanctions, we are increasing the economic pressure on Putin– making it harder for him to wage his illegal war and inflict untold suffering on innocent Ukrainians,” UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, promising that Britain’s support for Ukraine “will remain, resolute for as long as it takes.”
“We will continue to increase this pressure and crack down on all emerging forms of circumvention until Ukraine prevails and peace is secured,” Cleverly added.
Cyprus promises to crack down on oligarch enablers
On April 12, Britain sanctioned two Cypriots and the U.S. about a dozen Cypriots or dual-nationals for alleged ties to people facing sanctions or entities sanctioned over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This alarmed Cyprus, which has a thriving services industry in part built on hosting an extensive network of businesses with links to Russia and a past reputation of light-touch regulation.
At the same time, five law firms in Cyprus are under investigation by police in connection with the possible provision of services to sanctioned Russian oligarchs, according to the Cyprus Bar Association.
The Association is currently conducting 36 audits of law firms in connection with the same allegations, its head Christos Clerides also said on Thursday.
Cyprus’ new President Nikos Christodoulides has promised full compliance with the sanctions and promised to crack down on companies and individuals in Cyprus who helped Russians evade UK, US and EU sanctions.
The move seems to have appeased Western countries worried about Cyprus’ political and financial ties to Russia.
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