Australia Sanctions Key Players in Russia's War Economy
The Australian government has expanded anti-Russian sanctions and added 37 Russians and seven Russian companies from key sectors of Russian industry to the sanctions list in order to limit Moscow's ability to continue its aggressive war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to the Australian Foreign Ministry.
Among the 44 individuals and organizations subject to sanctions is the entire board of directors of the state-owned Sovcomflot, Russia's and the world's largest shipping company.
Restrictions have also been imposed on the management of Gazprom Neft, Russia's third-largest oil refiner, and Gazprombank, the main intermediary in transactions in the Russian oil and gas industry, both of which are affiliated with the oil and gas giant Gazprom.
Australian citizens and companies are prohibited from doing business with sanctioned legal entities and individuals from Russia, and the latter are also prohibited from entering the country.
“Australia has imposed new sanctions on 44 individuals and organizations linked to Russian industries that help fuel its war economy,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Australian media.
“This step is intended to disrupt the Russian government's ability to finance its illegal war and reflects our close coordination with international partners,” she added.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Australia has imposed sanctions on 60 Russian oil tankers used to evade international embargoes, marking the country's first direct action against Russia's so-called “shadow fleet” and one of its most comprehensive sanction packages to date.
Australia has imposed more than 1,500 sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including the latest restrictions against the Russian Federation's shadow fleet, which is used by the Russian government for illegal oil trade.
Canberra has also provided Ukraine with approximately $1.5 billion in military and humanitarian aid to fight Russian occupation forces, prompting Moscow to add Australia to its list of “unfriendly countries.”
In June, Australia imposed sanctions against 60 vessels in Russia's shadow tanker fleet for the first time.