Rahman Ravelli outlines the consequences of the UK imposing further sanctions on Russia

With the possibility of sanctions being brought by the UK and other nations against Russia, the Dutch Financial Times asked Rahman Ravelli what they thought the implications would be.

Rahman Ravelli said that how broadly any sanctions are targeted would determine whether they would make it harder for Russian business leaders and PEP’s (politically exposed persons) to invest in the UK. They added that one important issue would be the extent to which exceptions are granted for commercial transactions that are already ongoing when any sanctions are imposed. 

Rahman Ravelli explained that the British sanctions regulator, OFSI (the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation) already has sanctions in place in response to Russia’s earlier moves into Crimea. Rahman Ravelli said they expected any expanded sanctions regime to involve more organisations and bodies being added to the sanctions list, with restrictions imposed on British investments and transactions anywhere in Ukraine (as opposed to just in Crimea). 

Any new sanctions are likely - according to Rahman Ravelli – to place obligations on British financial institutions to closely scrutinise and possibly block any inbound investments to the UK from Russian business leaders and PEPs; with funds likely to be subject to asset freezes.

Rahman Ravelli concluded that whatever the exact details of any new sanctions are, they will make Russian-British commercial transactions more difficult and subject to enhanced compliance procedures and costs.

Rahman Ravelli's comments featured on the Dutch Financial Times. (Subsection required)