Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 01, 2025

Liz Truss announces full asset freeze against Russia’s biggest bank

Liz Truss announces full asset freeze against Russia’s biggest bank

Eight more oligarchs will also face sanctions and UK oil and coal imports will stop by end of year, says foreign secretary
The UK will impose an asset freeze on Russia’s largest bank, place sanctions on eight more oligarchs and end imports of oil and coal by next year, the foreign secretary has said.

Amid growing horror over alleged war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, Liz Truss announced that oligarchs including Andrey Guryev, a Russian fertiliser billionaire linked to Witanhurst, the UK’s second-largest private residence after Buckingham Palace, would be subject to sanctions.

Another is Moshe Kantor, the largest shareholder of the fertiliser company Acron. He has been a key figure in Britain’s Jewish community, hosting Holocaust memorial events attended by Prince Charles and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

Others who have been placed under sanctions include Sergey Sergeyevich Ivanov, the president of the world’s largest diamond producer, Alrosa, and Leonid Mikhelson, the founder and chief executive of the leading Russian natural gas producer Novatek, with a net worth of £18bn.

Mikhelson, an avid art collector, founded a not-for-profit Russian contemporary art foundation, V-A-C, in 2009, which has since funded international collaborations.

Guryev was revealed in 2015 to be the beneficiary of an offshore company that owned the 25-bedroom Witanhurst mansion in Highgate, north London. He was targeted by EU sanctions a month ago.

Truss said sanctions were being stepped up after the massacre of civilians in Bucha by Russian soldiers. “Today, we are stepping up our campaign to bring Putin’s appalling war to an end with some of our toughest sanctions yet,” she said.

“Our latest wave of measures will bring an end to the UK’s imports of Russian energy and sanction yet more individuals and businesses, decimating Putin’s war machine. Together with our allies, we are showing the Russian elite that they cannot wash their hands of the atrocities committed on Putin’s orders. We will not rest until Ukraine prevails.”

Earlier Boris Johnson said Russian atrocities in the previously occupied towns around Kyiv did not “look far short of genocide to me”, in his strongest words to date about the mass killings. The UK has previously been reticent to use the term genocide in the absence of a court ruling.

The UK announcement came alongside similar measures from western allies including the EU, which has also banned imports of Russian coal. The US announced it was also imposing sanctions against Sberbank, Russian’s largest bank, along with the UK. Washington said it would target two of Putin’s adult daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, with sanctions.

The UK will impose asset freezes on Sberbank and Credit Bank of Moscow and put in place an outright ban on all new outward investment in Russia, which was worth £11bn in 2020.

By the end of 2022, the UK would end all dependency on Russian coal and oil, the sanctions announcement said, with a pledge to end imports of gas “as soon as possible thereafter”. Export bans will also be put in place on key oil refining equipment, as well as a ban on imports of iron and steel products.

Nato foreign ministers will meet at a working dinner on Wednesday night and a formal meeting on Thursday morning, and Truss will meet G7 foreign ministers later on Thursday.

The Foreign Office said there should be an accelerated timetable agreed for all G7 countries to end their dependency on Russian energy, designed to put pressure on European countries.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
×