Four G7 powers will ban Russian gold exports in a new bid to stop oligarchs from buying the precious metal to avoid the impact of sanctions against Moscow, Britain said Sunday.
The joint action taken by Britain, Canada, Japan and the United States, “will directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, “this measure will have global reach, shutting the commodity out of formal international markets.”
Worth £12.6 billion ($15.5 billion) to the Russian economy in 2021, gold — a refuge commodity in times of turmoil — is a major export for the country.
With Putin’s Russia now under severe sanctions, the country’s richest have rushed to convert their assets into gold to avoid the impact of the financial restrictions.
The London Bullion Market had already suspended six Russian refineries in action announced on March 7th.
The latest move targeting the commodity came as leaders of the Group of Seven wealthiest nations were meeting in the Bavarian alps, with their talks to be focused on how to sustain backing for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, as well the longer reconstruction for the war-torn country.
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