- New UK sanctions target 29 individuals and
entities operating in and supporting Russia’s gold,
oil and strategic sectors.
- Those sanctioned include Russia’s largest gold refiner
and international networks propping up Russia’s gold, oil
and finance industries.
- To date the UK has sanctioned over 1,800 individuals,
companies, and groups under our Russia sanctions regime.
29 individuals and entities operating in and supporting
Russia’s gold and oil sectors have been
sanctioned by the UK today [8th November]. New
listings include both Russian oligarchs and businesses,
and third country enablers fuelling Russia’s war
revenues.
Russia’s gold and oil markets have close ties to
the Kremlin and serve as critical revenue streams for
its illegal invasion of Ukraine. Gold is a significant
income stream for Russia’s war effort – one of the highest by
value after oil and gas, worth £12.6 billion to the Russian
economy in 2021.
Following the illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine the
UK, alongside international
partners, has introduced a wide set of measures
intended to bear down on those revenues. This includes our
Oil Price Cap, which has contributed to a 25% reduction in
Russian oil revenues between January and September 2023 versus
the same period in 2022. Russia has repeatedly attempted to
circumvent these measures by enlisting the support of actors
in other jurisdictions.
Today’s listings are intended to block individuals and entities
from helping Russia to dodge the impact of international
sanctions. Those newly sanctioned include a
United Arab Emirates-based network responsible for channelling
more than $300m in gold revenues to Russia. As part of
this, gold trader Paloma Precious DMCC and the key individual
behind the outfit, Howard Jon Baker have been
targeted.
The UK has also sanctioned two of Russia’s largest gold
producers, Nord Gold PLC and Highland Gold Mining Limited,
alongside Russian oligarchs Vladislav Sviblov and Konstantin
Strukov.
In tandem with today’s sanctions, the National Crime Agency has
issued a Red Alert to raise awareness of common evasion
techniques used by enablers in the gold industry. The Red
Alert also tackles sanctions circumvention by calling on
businesses to report suspicious activity, including any attempts
to breach sanctions and providing guidance on how to do so.
Foreign Secretary said:
Sanctions continue to deal a heavy blow to the Kremlin’s war
economy, to date
depriving Putin of over $400bn to fund
his illegal invasion of Ukraine. But we must keep tightening the
screws on Moscow.
Today’s sanctions will hit those who have provided succour
to Putin by helping him to lessen the impact of our sanctions on
Russian gold and oil – two critical sources of revenue for the
Russian war machine.
As we root out and close down these circumvention
avenues, we’ll continue to box Putin in and make sure his
faltering war effort in Ukraine ends in failure.
Today the UK has also sanctioned Paramount Energy
& Commodities DMCC. This outfit is known to employ deceptive
shipping practices as well as opaque ownership structures and has
been used by Russia to soften the blow of oil-related sanctions
imposed by the UK in coordination with G7 partners.
The UK has also acted today to disrupt a covert procurement
network used by Russia to acquire critical western
technology, sanctioning OOO TK Fly Bridge, a company
procuring dual-use goods for Russian electronics
producers NPP Istok and Ecitech. Also sanctioned from this
covert network are Maksim Ermakov, founder of OOO TK Fly Bridge,
alongside eight of NPP Istok’s board members.
To date the UK has sanctioned over 1,800 individuals,
companies, and groups under our Russia sanctions regime,
including 129 oligarchs with a combined net worth of £145bn at
the time of the invasion.
See below the full list of individuals and
organisations sanctioned by the UK today:
- JSC Krastsvetmet
- Paloma Precious DMCC
- Howard Jon BAKER
- Marina Aleksandrovna MORDASHOVA
- Nord Gold PLC
- Georgy Valeryevich SMIRNOV
- Konstantin Ivanovich STRUKOV
- Vladislav Vladimirovich SVIBLOV
- Highland Gold Mining Limited
- Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company
- PARAMOUNT ENERGY & COMMODITIES DMCC
- Francois Edouard MAURON
- Russian National Reinsurance Company
- Sergei Vadimovich TREGUB
- Vadym Oleksandrovich TREGUB
- Krešimir FILIPOVIĆ
- Walter MORETTI
- Limited Liability Company Technological Company Fly Bridge
- Maksim Yuryevich ERMAKOV
- Evgenii Vasilyevich ISTOMIN
- Mariya Vladimirovna CHEKADANOVA
- Vadim Sergeevich DOBROV
- Aleksandr Sergeevich KOTOV
- Leonid Viktorovich LAVRENTYEV
- Natalya Aleksandovna RUBTSOVA
- Sergei Vladilenovich SHCHERBAKOV
- Aleksandr Aleksandrovich VYALOV
- Yury Anatolyevich CHIKHANCHIN
- The Russian Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP)
