EU Blacklists Abramovich, Targets Energy And Luxury Sector With New Sanctions Against Russia

Fourth round of sanctions hit Chelsea owner Abramovich
Investments in the energy sector of Russia are prohibited
Stop the export of caviar, shoes, wine worth more than 300 euros

BRUSSELS, March 15 – The European Union on Tuesday imposed a new round of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including bans on investment in the Russian energy sector, exports of luxury goods to Moscow and imports of metal products from Russia.

The sanctions also freeze the assets of other business leaders backing the Russian state, including Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich and Konstantin Ernst, head of Russian state-run Channel One, who have been added to a blacklist that already includes dozens of wealthy Russians. . More

The latest sanctions followed three rounds of crackdowns that included freezing the assets of the Russian central bank, excluding certain Russian and Belarusian banks from the SWIFT banking system, and freezing the assets of oligarchs and high-profile politicians, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The European Commission said the sanctions included “a far-reaching ban on new investment in the Russian energy sector.”

The measures will affect the largest Russian oil companies Rosneft (ROSN.MM), Transneft (TRNF_p.MM) and Gazprom Neft, which will be banned from transactions, but EU members will still be able to buy oil and gas from them . More

Investments in energy projects in Russia run by other Russian companies, including the gas giant Gazprom, will also be banned.

The official said the investment ban applies to the entire energy sector, with the exception of nuclear power, as some EU countries still rely on technology provided by Moscow for Russian reactors on their soil. Exports from Russia of several types of minerals, including fossil fuels and palladium, remain possible.

There will also be a complete ban on transactions with certain Russian state-owned enterprises associated with the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex.

NO MORE CAVIAR

On Monday, the bloc reached a preliminary agreement on new sanctions read more .

As part of the sanctions, the assets of Abramovich and other oligarchs are to be frozen, but decisions on how to apply this measure lie with EU governments.

The impact on companies owned by blacklisted businessmen remains unclear, the EU official said, as there are no clear rules at the EU level on how to identify control or ownership.

The EU is trying to support the exchange of information between EU states to facilitate confiscation, as some members have limited staff and may also lack political will.

A ban on Russian steel imports is estimated to affect products worth 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion).

EU companies will also no longer be allowed to export to Russia any luxury items worth more than 300 euros, including gems, crystal, caviar, wine, bags, leather goods, shoes and coats. The export of cars worth more than 50,000 euros will also be prohibited.

According to the EU representative, this was supposed to affect the way of life of the Russian elite.

The package also prohibits rating agencies based in the EU from assigning ratings to Russia and Russian companies.

One EU official said the EU was in preliminary talks with Washington to take similar measures to the US, which hosts the world’s leading agencies, “otherwise the measure would have very little effect.”

The EU also agreed to strip Russia of its most favored nation trade status, opening the door for punitive tariffs on Russian goods or outright import bans.

($1 = €0.9083)

Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Alexandra Hudson

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