Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada will restrict the import of Russian gold as sanctions over the war in Ukraine. The import ban is due to take effect soon and will apply to newly mined and refined gold.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the sanction had direct consequences for Russian oligarchs and “Putin’s war machine”. Many oligarchs turn possessions into gold. In this way they are trying to cope with the consequences of the strict international sanctions against Moscow.
According to the British, the measure will effectively ban Russian gold from the world gold market, as London plays a central role in international gold trade and the three other major powers also block imports. Gold exports yielded the Russian economy about 14.6 billion euros last year.
The sanction will be officially presented at the G7 summit in Elmau, Germany. The major industrialized countries of the world will discuss the consequences of the war in Ukraine in the coming days.