The UK has imposed sanctions on an additional 370 people linked to Vladimir Putin, Downing Street has said.
The move brings to more than 1,000 the total number of sanctions imposed since Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with 775 relating to individuals and the remainder to banks, institutions, companies and subsidiaries.
Britain has lagged behind US and EU allies in targeting individual oligarchs for their support of the Russian president, because new legislation brought in as a result of Brexit meant that a watertight legal case needed to be established for each one, raising fears that the process could take months to complete.
But last night’s passage of the Economic Crime Act has accelerated the process, allowing the UK to match sanctions imposed by the EU and US, and then develop detailed cases later.
The Foreign Office said that the new list included “more Russian oligarchs and their family members, Putin’s political allies and propagandists”.
Among them are Putin’s prime minister Mikhail Mishustin, defence minister Sergei Shoigu and former president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, as well as the Russian president’s chief spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Russian foreign affairs ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and German Khan are on a list which includes super-wealthy individuals with a combined estimated worth of more than £100bn.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss said: “We are going further and faster than ever in hitting those closest to Putin – from major oligarchs, to his prime minister and the propagandists who peddle his lies and disinformation. We are holding them to account for their complicity in Russia’s crimes in Ukraine.
“Working closely with our allies, we will keep increasing the pressure on Putin and cut off funding for the Russian war machine.”
