The EU is expected to freeze assets held in the West by Russia’s top lender Sberbank, and impose sanctions against the head of giant zinc and copper firm UMMC as part of its continued response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a report by Reuters.
UMMC chief Andrei Kozitsyn is said to be one of 48 individuals to be added to the sanctions list, whilst a further eight entities are expected to join Sberbank on the list, which is prepared by the EU foreign affairs service.
Kozitsyn is being added to the list as he is deemed to be “involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the government”, according to a draft document.
Other individuals on the list include politicians, celebrities and family members of those previously sanctioned.
Russia’s largest lender Sberbank will see a total ban on transactions with Western organizations, having already had its ability to conduct business severely disrupted when it was excluded from the SWIFT global payments system. It is expected that the bank’s subsidiary in Europe will be allowed to continue trading for six months as it winds down.
Sanctions are being rolled back in one department though, with Sberbank and other banks previously added to the list allowed to use a portion of frozen funds to facilitate food and fertilizer purchases, with the threat of crisis looming as a result of disruption to global food supply chains.
The additions to the sanctions list are expected to be adopted on Wednesday, and will take the total number of individuals on the listto 1,229, along with 110 entities.