Dragon Capital, a boutique investment bank in Kyiv, has compiled a list of 16 additional sanctions that countries should impose on Russia to punish it for its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Some of them have been levied to a lesser degree while others would constitute new ones.
The bank drafted the list with a group of experts from the nation’s leading business publications, think tanks and investment companies to produce what they’re calling a “what’s next” list of proposed sanctions that would have the best chance of altering Russia’s behavior.
The proposed list would expand both the scope and the depth of existing sanctions while also highlight some new areas which were previously untouched by Western efforts to contain Russia.
The following is the group’s proposed list of expanded restrictive measures:
- Maximize pressure via financial sanctions:
– Expand the interbank communication and transfer SWIFT system by blocking and SDN designation to the entire banking system
– A full ban by the Visa and Mastercard credit card payment systems
– The Financial Action Task Force, (FATF), a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, should blacklist both Russia and Belarus
– De-listing of all Russian securities on global stock exchanges, removal from all investor indices, disconnecting Russia from global securities and foreign exchange clearing and depositories
– Blanket ban for U.S. and European Union (EU) pension systems to hold Russian assets
– Blanket ban for any Russian entity to raise funds abroad.
- Expand all existing sanctions on Russian officials and oligarchs to their families. Deport the children and wives of sanctioned Russians from the EU and U.S. back home. All existing assets should be confiscated.
- Property confiscation for all sanctioned Russians in the EU and U.S. This should extend to cryptocurrency wallets, including “crypto vaults” in Switzerland.
- The current sanctions list should be expanded to all Russian State Duma members (including future elected members), senior government officials and the top 100 oligarchs.
- G7 countries should put pressure on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other global financial hubs to ensure worldwide compliance with the sanctions regime.
- No global financial services for Russian and Belarus citizens: existing accounts to be closed and no new accounts opened in banks, brokerages and electronic money institutions. Ban on acquisition of assets including real estate. All existing assets should be frozen.
- No travel and education for Russian and Belarus citizens: a travel and visa ban for all passport holders, cancel all student visas and request to leave. Cash limits for Russians returning to Russia to $2,000.
- No loopholes via so-called golden passports: ban future golden passports, revoke existing ones for sanctioned people and their families.
- No international trade for Russia and Belarus: an embargo on oil and gas, military exports, general ban on exports from the West to Russia (chemical products, agriculture seed stock, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, apparel, electronics, spare parts, machine-building, cars and cosmetics).
- Block all technology transfers to Russia: stop Western exports of technological equipment (computers, servers, semiconductors, consumer devices), expand this to Western software (no new installations and updates, existing licenses to be pulled) and cloud services (to be ceased immediately). All services such as Google Playmarket, Apple Store, Google Maps, Amazon Web Services should be subject to this rule and no longer available in Russia.
- Block Russian and Belarusian media channels and propaganda-oriented bloggers from access to Youtube and other streaming platforms. Global satellites should be banned from airing RT (formerly Russia Today).
- Block maritime, railway and airport logistics for Russian and Russian-owned vessels: no entry, no port service, no refueling.
- Sanctions should be expanded to all state-owned enterprises in Russia aiding their military effort: Gazprom, Rosneft, Roscosmos, RZhD, Rosatom. All joint projects with the EU and U.S. should be frozen. All assets in the West should be frozen.
- Limit provision of auxiliary services which enable large Russian industries:
– Provision of insurance and reinsurance for risks, freights and vessels
– Auditing by the “Big Four” companies
– G7 should put pressure on ‘”ax haven” countries from opening accounts and registering new companies for Russian beneficiaries.
– Use of bearer shares by Russians should be blocked in the EU and Switzerland.
- Freeze Russia and Belarus SDRs at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and use those for a new program for Ukraine.
- Focus on the widespread freeze of assets of Russia sovereign as well as state-owned companies to help Ukraine get reparations from Russia in the future.
