US Financier and anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder has called on the United Kingdom to target Russian oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin with economic sanctions to halt any possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia when new legislation is unveiled today.
“We’re going to be introducing new legislation so that we can hit targets including those who are key to the Kremlin’s continuation and the continuation of the Russian regime,” UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told the BBC on January 30.
“And we would target Russian financial institutions, we would target energy companies, we will target oligarchs close to the Kremlin,” she underlined. Foreign Office sources said Britain’s existing sanctions regime allowed the UK only to target those linked to the destabilization of Ukraine; the new legislation will permit wider targeting of the “strategic interests” of the Russian state.
The news came just hours after Britain said it was willing to deploy more forces to Estonia and other NATO allies in Eastern Europe. British governments have been accused in recent years of allowing Kremlin-linked money to flow easily through the City of London.
Bill Browder agrees with the UK’s proposals, and believes that the most effective means of grabbing Putin’s attention is to hit him in his pocket, and there should be no need for the UK to wait and see if a war ensues.
In a Twitter post, Browder wrote,
“The only thing that Putin cares about is his money, which is held for him by oligarch trustees. Hopefully the government’s announcement today will do that“
The legislation would probably have to be fast-tracked, but Browder warned there would be “intense lobbying” by Russian oligarchs to ensure they are not personally sanctioned. “They will hire lobbyists and PR firms – and it will take strength and fortitude for the British government to deal with that,” he noted. Leaders of the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee confirmed on January 30 that they were on the verge of approving “the mother of all sanctions” against Russia.
Both Truss and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are expected to visit Kyiv this week, with the UN Security Council set to convene today to discuss the ongoing crisis arising from Russia amassing around 120,000 troops around Ukraine’s borders.
Washington has vowed to hold Moscow to account as it works with NATO allies to beef up sanctions and provide weapons to Ukraine. The US said it was prepared to push back against any “disinformation” that Moscow puts forward. Though Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, is likely to try to block the 15-member council from holding its US-requested meeting, the US is standing firm.
“The security council is unified. Our voices are unified in calling for the Russians to explain themselves,” Washington’s UN envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told ABC News.
Truss said last week there was “a real threat of invasion”.
