THE SNP have warned that the UK Government is “lagging behind” Western allies when it comes to imposing effective sanctions on Putin’s regime, Russian oligarchs and those with ties to the Kremlin – with the party also calling out the “Brexit myth” that the UK would be able to move quicker in imposing broader sanctions.
The party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Alyn Smith MP, has written to the Attorney General asking for clarity on the delays and whether the UK will match US-EU sanctions.
In the letter he contrasts the EU’s decisive approach in seizing oligarch’s yachts, sanctioning more of Putin’s inner circle, and its willingness to sanction family members of oligarchs.
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Meanwhile, the UK is failing to do any of this, with Whitehall insiders noting that the UK’s sanctions regime, which was set up after Brexit, has resulted in a more cumbersome and complex procedure.
Combined with a failure to prepare for legal cases despite warnings of a Russian invasion of Ukraine for months, there is a huge sense of frustration that the UK Government is unable to match the speed and resources needed to effectively sanction Putin’s allies.
There is a fear that the slowness of the UK’s response, along with the failure of successive UK governments to tackle the “London laundromat” will result in those being targeted being able to escape the worst effects. Smith said: “Having seen the speed and progress the EU has made, I am concerned about the UK government’s lack of progress given the rapidly changing situation in Ukraine.
“The Foreign Secretary stated earlier that the UK government ‘will continue working through our hit list of oligarchs, focusing on their houses, their yachts, and every aspect of their lives’.
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“Yet, as reported in the media, the UK has only sanctioned nine Russian oligarchs to date, compared to the 25 individuals sanctioned by the EU with ties to Putin. A supposed benefit of Brexit was that the UK would be able to move quicker in imposing broader sanctions – yet the evidence suggests this is another myth, given the EU’s far larger and far more effective response. It is becoming painfully obvious the UK is lagging behind our Western allies when it comes to tackling Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Both chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Defence Select Committee have urged the UK Government to go much faster and further. The SNP have put forward several measures that we would like to see implemented, as have many others. There is a unique cross-party consensus that more must be done and done quickly, otherwise it will be too late for the sanctions to have any meaningful effect.”
On Thursday, Boris Johnson claimed the UK is “bolstering” its package of sanctions against the Kremlin with “new powers in our arsenal to go further and faster”.
Johnson said the changes will “ramp up the pressure on those criminal elites trying to launder money on UK soil”, ensuring they have “nowhere to hide”.
The amendments to the Economic Crime Bill will “help streamline the current legislation, so we can respond even more swiftly and effectively to the current crisis in the way we sanction individuals”, the Foreign Office said.
The provisions will allow the UK to align more rapidly with the individual designations imposed by allies such as the US and Canada.
The changes include shortening the length of time foreign owners of UK property will be given to declare their true identity under a new register of overseas entities, from 18 months to six months.
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