Report: Russians may fall under new UK sanctions regime

MOSCOW, Jan 10 (PRIME) -- The U.K. is preparing to activate a new post-Brexit sanctions regime, with foreign secretary Dominic Raab planning to freeze the assets of Russian citizens and those of other countries deemed responsible for human rights abuses, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Raab on Thursday held talks with his Canadian counterpart, Francois-Philippe Champagne, as he sought to present the U.K. as part of a new western coalition intent on punishing those accused of murder, torture or inhuman treatment of others.

The foreign secretary, a former human rights lawyer, is expected to introduce the new British sanctions regime next month. It would be followed by a specific list of people whose assets in the U.K. will be frozen.

Raab claims the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. will allow Britain to act more decisively to tackle human rights abuses and wants to work with countries such as Canada and the U.S., which already have their own tough sanctions regimes.

According to British government insiders, individuals likely to be targeted in the first wave of asset freezes include citizens of Russia, Libya and North Korea. They could also include citizens of Saudi Arabia implicated in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Raab wants to use the new sanctions regime to show that the U.K. will play a global leadership role after Brexit, addressing fears that the country might pursue an aggressive new trade policy which disregards human rights.

“Our shared mission in the world is not confined to trade and security – it’s also a joint mission to serve as a force for good,” he said after talks in Montreal. “We’ll collaborate closely with Canada to hold to account those responsible for the worst human rights abuses around the world.”

The move flows from Britain’s 2018 sanctions act, which introduced a post-Brexit regime enabling the country to impose economic, trade and immigration measures after its departure from the E.U.

Raab will use a so-called Magnitsky clause in the legislation that allows him to introduce asset freezes and visa bans on torturers and murderers.

He recognized that the U.S. and Canada were already ahead of Britain in applying such arrangements, which are named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in a Moscow prison in 2009 after alleging officials were involved in tax fraud.

Last month E.U. foreign ministers cleared the way to start work on a European “Magnitsky act”.

But the foreign secretary argued the new British sanctions regime will allow the U.K. to move more swiftly and decisively, rather than agreeing measures with 27 other E.U. member states. Countries including Italy, Greece and Cyprus, which have close links with Moscow, have traditionally resisted reprisals against Russia.

Although Raab wants to carry on working with E.U. countries over sanctions, his talks in Canada on Thursday reflected his desire for Britain to work more actively at a global level.

The Foreign Office said the new sanctions regime could be activated immediately after Brexit on January 31. Secondary legislation to beef up the new regime – including a list of new asset freezes – is expected in February or March.

End