OTTAWA –
Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie announced a new wave of sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime on Friday, including a ban on imports of Russian vodka, caviar and diamonds.
The ban on imports of some luxury goods from Russia will tighten the net of the country’s elite and cover alcoholic beverages, fish and seafood.
Canada also bans the export of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages to Russia, as well as designer clothing, training shoes and sportswear.
The package of sanctions, covering goods worth $ 75.7 million in 2021, includes a ban on the export of jewelry, works of art and even kitchen utensils from Canada to Russia.
Canada has also banned products that could be used in the production and production of weapons from Russia.
Jolie also imposed sanctions on 14 other people, including oligarchs linked to the regime of the Russian president and their families.
These include billionaire Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB agent who bought two major newspapers, the Evening Standard and the Independent, in the United Kingdom. He also funded Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s leading opposition newspaper.
Gleb Frank, owner of one of Russia’s largest fishing companies and son of Sergei Frank, former transport minister and former CEO of Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, is on the new sanctions list.
So is Gleb Frank’s wife, Ksenia Frank, the youngest daughter of oligarch Gennady Timchenko, an aide to Putin. She lives in Switzerland and has attended the University of Edinburgh in the UK
Elena Timchenko, Gennady Timchenko’s wife, is also on the list of recent sanctions.
David Davidovic, the “right hand” of oligarch Roman Abramovich, is also affected by sanctions. Abramovich sells Chelsea, the British Premier League football club, after being caught in an earlier wave of sanctions.
The new tranche of financial sanctions came when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Christia Freeland concluded a round of talks with his G7 counterparts in Germany, as well as with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Schmihal.
Freeland has announced that Canada will provide an additional $ 250 million loan to Ukraine, bringing Canada’s total financial support to the war-torn country to $ 1.8 billion. The loan comes in addition to military support and weapons for Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters in Germany, Freeland said other G7 countries were interested in following Canada’s example in legislative changes allowing the confiscation and sale of Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine.
Current laws only allow the government to freeze the assets and accounts of sanctioned individuals. But Canada’s budget implementation bill sets out its intention to pass a law that expands the current sanctions regime to allow for the confiscation of their assets.
Freeland said other G7 countries have many questions about “seizing Russian assets and using them to help pay for Ukraine’s recovery” and are interested in following Canada’s example.
She said Canada had the opportunity to “lead by example and show what can be done”.
“There was a lot of interest in what Canada was doing,” Freeland said.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Canada imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 individuals and legal entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
“The Putin regime must and will be held accountable for its unjustified actions,” Jolie said.
“Canada, along with our allies, will be ruthless in its efforts to maintain pressure on the Russian regime until it is no longer able to wage war. We are unwavering in our support for Ukraine and its people.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 20, 2022.
Joly announced that Canada bans the export of targeted luxury goods to Russia and imposes a ban on the import of targeted luxury goods from Russia.
– Rachel Ayelo (@rachaiello) May 20, 2022
Prohibited imports: alcoholic beverages, seafood, fish and non-industrial diamonds.
Federal agencies say together that these categories represent goods worth $ 75.7 million in 2021.
– Rachel Ayelo (@rachaiello) May 20, 2022
Add Comment