LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will sanction businesses and people with the closest links to Kremlin chief President Vladimir Putin if Russia takes any action against Ukraine, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke said on Monday.
Since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, London – or “Londongrad” as it is sometimes dubbed – became the pre-eminent global centre for a vast outflow of money from former Soviet republics.
Opponents of Putin have repeatedly called on the West to get tough on Russian money, though oligarchs and Russian officials continue to flaunt their fabulous wealth at Europe’s most luxurious destinations.
“We are very clear that if Russia takes further action against the Ukraine, then we will further tighten the sanctions regime targeting those businesses and people with the closest links to the Kremlin,” Clarke told Sky News.
The British government will introduce new legislation this week to broaden the scope of sanctions it can apply to Russia in an effort to deter aggression towards Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday.
The United States, the European Union and Britain have repeatedly warned Putin against attacking Ukraine after Russia deployed around 100,000 troops near the border with its former Soviet neighbour.
Russian officials say the West is gripped by Russophobia and has no right to lecture Moscow on how to act after it expanded the NATO military alliance eastwards after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and sowed chaos in Iraq and Syria.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)
