The European Union is broadening the scope of sanctions imposed in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the most recent accord among member states including crypto assets specifically.
The European Commission welcomed a new agreement between the European Union’s 27 members on Wednesday to revise the bloc’s legislation imposing sanctions on Russia — for its military assault on Ukraine — and Belarus — for its role in the conflict. The adjustments are intended to make it impossible to get around the limits.
Some of the additional sanctions against Russia target another 160 people who are involved in actions that endanger Ukraine’s sovereignty. The group comprises 14 oligarchs and notable businessmen, as well as 146 members of Russia’s Federation Council, which confirmed Moscow’s decision to recognise the Donetsk and Lugansk breakaway republics.
A total of 862 Russian individuals and 53 businesses are now subject to European sanctions. As fears grew that Russia’s government and elites would utilise cryptocurrencies to circumvent Western sanctions, crypto assets were also targeted. The latter have been reclassified as “transferable securities.”
The European Union is also taking steps to limit Russia’s ability to circumvent sanctions by passing through Belarus. Several Belarusian banks have been removed from SWIFT, the worldwide interbank messaging system, including Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, as well as its domestic subsidiaries. Despite the EU’s ongoing work on cryptocurrency legislation, crypto assets have been added. The European Parliament’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) proposal was filed this week, and its Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) will vote on it on March 14.
Let us see how Russia will counter all these Sanctions.
