UK sanctions Russian gold exports

New exports of Russian gold will no longer be allowed to be enter the UK, Canada, US and Japan due to measures announced at the G7 Summit.

Gold is a major Russian export, worth £12.6 bln to the Russian economy in 2021. There has also been an increase in Russian purchases of gold bullion in an attempt to avoid the financial impact of western sanctions.

Given’s London central role in the international gold trade and parallel US, Japanese and Canadian action, this measure will have global reach, shutting the commodity out of formal international markets.

The gold import ban applies to newly mined or refined gold. It does not impact Russian-origin gold previously exported from Russia. There are no plans to extend restrictions to Russian gold purchased legitimately before the import ban was put in place.