- What is the Government doing to
ensure UK entities do not fund or supply the
Russian war effort?
- BTC investigates UK sanctions
regime - including in relation to illegal settlements in
Palestine
The UK Government estimates that international sanctions on
Russia, including the UK's, have “deprived the Russian state of
at least $450 billion in war funds” since its invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022.
There is no specific information available on the impact of trade
sanctions within that figure but restrictions on
exports to Russia are intended to choke off access to the
goods and services it needs as well as bite
into the Kremlin's revenues.
The UK currently has trade sanctions in place against more than
20 countries but the most expansive by
far are against Russia and its proxy Belarus. The
sanctions aim to deprive the Russian Government of income by
restricting the export of Russian goods, and to disrupt
Russia's own access to goods and services, especially for
military use, by restricting exports from
UK companies. As a result, direct UK exports to Russia are
now almost zero, and imports from Russia are largely
prohibited.
But the UK's regime is proving far from watertight.
Concerns are mounting about UK company goods being supplied
to Russia after export from the UK to a third
country - whether inadvertent, negligent or
deliberate.
There have been numerous reports of sanctioned goods
being shipped from the West to one or multiple other countries,
for example Turkey or in Central Asia, before being
moved into Russia. This month the Times ran a major story on
UK-made components being found in Russian drones used in
Ukraine.
The UK's National Crime Agency has also warned about
gold coming into the UK that may originate in Russia
but is not certified as such.
With circumvention of trade sanctions against Russia reported
to be widespread, there
are serious questions about
how UK enforcement agencies are deploying limited
resources. Alongside HMRC, the Office for Trade
Sanctions Implementation will make a first
appearance at the Committee – more than
a year after it
was established - for an account of its
approach and impact so far.
Following previous work on the UK's control of arms
exports to Israel, the Committee
will also consider the possibility of
sanctions to “prevent trade or investment relations that
assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by
Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" - as
the ICJ has put it in an advisory opinion which the UK has
stated it “does not disagree with”.
Rt Hon MP, Chair of the Committee,
said: “Sanctions are not statements of
intent. They are instruments of enforcement.
“The Government says sanctions are working but the real question
is why are any UK goods, UK finance, or UK markets still being
used - directly or indirectly - to fund Russia's war machine?
“If British-made components are ending up in Russian drones, or
if Russian oil derivatives are showing up in our country we know
our regime is not as watertight as it must be.
“Sanctions only work if they are enforced. That means proper
scrutiny of circumvention through third countries, clear
accountability, and agencies equipped to act. So our hearing will
test whether the UK is matching strong words with strong
enforcement and making good on our promises not to allow trade
with Britain to fill the coffers of bad actors.”
At 3.30pm on Wednesday 25
February 2026
-
MP, Minister for Trade at
Department for Business and Trade
- Anna Deibel-Jung, Deputy Director, Office of Trade Sanctions
Implementation at Department for Business and Trade
- Esther Blythe, Deputy Director for Russia and Belarus
Sanctions at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- Joanne Cheetham, Deputy Director, Customs Compliance at HM
Revenue and Customs
