UK, U.S., Japan and Canada to ban Russia gold imports
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain, the US, Japan and Canada will ban new imports of Russian gold as a part of efforts to tighten the sanctions squeeze on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, the British authorities mentioned on Sunday.
The ban will come into power shortly and apply to newly mined or refined gold, the federal government assertion mentioned forward of a gathering of Group of Seven leaders in Germany on Sunday.
The transfer won’t have an effect on beforehand exported Russian-origin gold, it added.
Russian gold exports had been price 12.6 billion kilos ($15.45 billion) final yr and rich Russians have not too long ago been shopping for bullion to scale back the monetary impression of Western sanctions, the federal government mentioned.
“The measures we have now introduced right this moment will immediately hit Russian oligarchs and strike on the coronary heart of Putin’s battle machine,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned within the assertion.
“We have to starve the Putin regime of its funding. The UK and our allies are doing simply that.”
The most recent initiative follows the London Bullion Market Affiliation’s (LBMA) March suspension of accreditation for six Russian treasured metals refiners.
($1 = 0.8155 kilos)
(Writing by William SchombergEditing by David Goodman)
