UK announces new Russia sanctions targeting financial services, ‘shadow fleet’

Britain’s Foreign Office on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting individuals and entities it said were involved in the production or transport of Russian oil, facilitating military manufacturing and circumventing financial services sanctions.

The package includes 12 additional oil tankers that Britain said were operating as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” and helping Moscow evade sanctions on oil exports.

The sanctions also target three cryptocurrency exchanges and two payment platforms suspected by Britain of being used by Russia to circumvent financial sanctions.

Britain said two of the sanctioned entities had processed and facilitated transactions with the A7 illicit finance network.

The new measures also target 17 entities and individuals involved in supplying goods that the UK, US and EU consider vital to Russia’s war effort, including Russia-based importers of machine tools, electronics and materials used to produce missiles and drones.

Russia’s embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Credit: Reuters