UK Sanctions 5 Russian Banks and Three High-Net Worth Individuals

As a response to Russia sending troops to Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine, the UK announced sanctions against 5 Russian banks and 3 high-net worth individuals.

The Russian banks are Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank. The high-net worth individuals are Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg.

The UK Prime Minister, Borris Johnson made the following statement: "I travelled to Kyiv to meet President Zelenskyy on the 1st February, and I saw him again in Munich on Saturday. I spoke to him last night, soon after Putin’s speech, to assure him, as I’m sure the whole House would agree was the right thing to do, I assured him of Britain’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"And, now the UK and our allies will begin to impose the sanctions on Russia that we have already prepared, using the new and unprecedented powers granted by this House to sanction Russian individuals and entities of strategic importance to the Kremlin. Today, the UK is sanctioning the following five Russian banks: Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank. And, we are sanctioning three very high net worth individuals: Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg, and Igor Rotenberg.

"Any assets they hold in the UK will be frozen, the individuals concerned will be banned from travelling here, and we will prohibit all UK individuals and entities from having any dealings with them. This is the first tranche, the first barrage, of what we are prepared to do: we will hold further sanctions at readiness, to be deployed alongside the United States and the European Union if the situation escalates still further."

(read the full statement)

EU and US Upcoming Sanctions

Germany adopted a tougher stance, halting the approval of Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia over Ukraine. German counsellor Sholz made the following statement, "With regard to the latest developments, we need to reassess the situation also with regard to Nord Stream 2. It sounds very technocratic but it is the necessary administrative step in order to stop certification of the pipeline."

Both the European Union (EU) and the United States are preparing their own sanctions. Additionally, the EU is targeting the 351 Russian lawmakers that approved the recognition of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states as well as those that were against it.

US sanctions are expected to be announced within several hours. Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said, "The United States is going to have significant announcements of its own a bit later today, including sanctions that we will impose in response to what Russia did yesterday."