EU weighs sanctions on some of Russia’s wealthiest tycoons

By Alberto Nardelli

, Nikos Chrysoloras and John Follain

Bloomberg

Feb. 28, 2022 3:03 PM PT

The European Union is discussing sanctioning some of Russia’s wealthiest tycoons as well as top officials in state companies and media in a further ratcheting up of its penalties for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.

The list, which still needs to be approved by European governments and could change before that happens, includes a handful of billionaires who haven’t yet been hit by sanctions in the U.S.: metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov, Alfa Group owners Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, plus Alexei Mordashov, who controls a major steel company.

Also proposed for restrictions are President Vladimir Putin’s longtime spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as well as a number of state-media figures the EU accuses in the documents of spreading disinformation. Cellist and longtime Putin friend Sergei Roldugin is on the proposed list.

The EU is also looking to include executives at top state companies, as well as military and security officials, many of whom have already been sanctioned by the U.S. in recent years. The proposed list includes Igor Sechin, chief executive of oil company Rosneft, and Nikolay Tokarev, CEO of oil company Transneft.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, told reporters Sunday that “we have agreed to increase the peoples and entities that are going to be subject to restrictive measures.” He said the full list would be finished at a meeting of EU ambassadors.

“This includes Russian oligarchs and businessmen whose listing carries huge economic impact and political figures who hold key roles in the Putin system in Russia,” he said.

The EU has announced it will cut some Russian banks out of SWIFT, the international payment system, and impose restrictions on the country’s central bank, in a move coordinated with the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Earlier on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the bloc would ban Russian state-backed media RT and Sputnik, bar Russian aircraft from EU airspace and increase military aid to Ukraine.

Initial sanctions on 23 high-ranking individuals agreed upon last week in retaliation for Putin’s recognition of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine included banking executives, military chiefs, media figures and a top Kremlin official, but not that many billionaires.

What you should know

UPDATED March 18, 2022 | 12:08 PM

What are the roots of the Russia-Ukraine hostilities?

Ukraine won its independence in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin contends it was never a state.

Why won't the U.S. and NATO approve a no-fly zone over Ukraine?

A no-fly zone, many officials say, would draw the U.S. and its NATO allies into direct combat with Russia — an escalation many liken to a world war. Air combat missions would have to be supported by ground-based operations and the U.S. and its NATO allies would have to be prepared to go in over land, making it “a slippery slope from there to a shooting war.”

Who gets to decide if Putin is a war criminal?

There are set definitions and processes for determining who’s a war criminal and how they should be punished. The investigations into Putin’s actions already have begun. The U.S. and 44 other countries are working together to investigate possible violations and abuses, and there’s another inquiry by the International Criminal Court.

Want to help Ukraine? Here's how

Several organizations in California, as well as international aid groups, are helping refugees, wounded soldiers and others in and around Ukraine. Here’s how you can contribute.

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EU weighs sanctions on some of Russia’s wealthiest tycoons

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