Most British sanctions against Russia are ineffective, former British ambassador to Moscow Ian Proud said, citing the opinion of the chair of the British Treasury Select Committee, Harriet Baldwin, the online magazine Brave New Europe wrote on May 3.
According to Proud, Baldwin mentioned that, despite the sanctions’ objective of creating difficulties for the Russian economy, the IMF predicts its strengthening. His committee is leading an investigation into the effectiveness of the sanctions, the results of which will be published in July.
Committee officials noted that the UK had sanctioned more than 2,000 Russian individuals and entities since the conflict began, but most did not have assets in the UK that could be frozen. They indicated that only 8% of the sanctioned individuals and 23% of the entities had frozen assets, meaning that around 90% of the sanctions did not result in an asset freeze.
Proud believes that imposing sanctions on new people and organizations is often pointless, especially if they have no assets in the UK. He noted that Russia has certainly suffered economically due to sanctions since the Ukraine crisis began in 2014.
“No doubt Whitehall officials will continue to try to mislead the Treasury select committee by arguing that with a little work and tightening here and there, sanctions can be more effective. But it is absolutely clear to me that the sanctions against Russia have failed.”writes the ambassador.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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