E.U. Preparing Fourth Round of Sanctions: Sanctions Update, March 4, 2022

The European Union's top diplomat said all options are on the table as the E.U. considers another round of sanctions against Russia.

According to the Global Banking & Finance Review, Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said "A fourth round of sanctions could affect more Russian banks’ access to the SWIFT international transfer system, bar Russian ships from European ports and cut imports from Russia."

On Friday, Switzerland announced it had adopted the E.U.'s latest sanctions on Russia, including banning transactions with the Russian Central Bank and adopting the EU’s SWIFT measures. Switzerland also announced it was banning the export of goods  that "Could contribute to Russia’s military and technological enhancement or the development of the defense and security sector."

Meanwhile, Britain sanctioned two Russians Thursday - industrialist Alisher Usmanov and former deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov, current chair of Russian bank VEB.

The moves were announced after increased criticism that the U.K. had not imposed more stringent sanctions against Russian individuals. According to the International Business Times, “Britain has so far sanctioned fewer people than the European Union, which on Monday imposed sanctions on 26 prominent figures, including oligarchs and people active in the oil, banking and finance sectors.”

The United States also announced new blocking sanctions aimed at eight Russians with close ties to Russia President Putin.  And the U.S. announced visa restrictions on 19 Russian oligarchs and family members.

Late Thursday night, the State Department said it would target 21 Russian companies that "operate or have operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy."

Related sanctions news:

• Intesa opening Pravex bank branches in Ukraine when safe to do so (Reuters)
• Coinbase CEO Armstrong says crypto is lifeline for regular Russians, and the exchange won't ban them unless the law tells it to (Business Insider)
• EU considers energy sanctions on Russia after nuclear power plant attack (CNBC)
• Kremlin staff didn't expect Putin to invade Ukraine, shocked by severity of Western sanctions (Business Insider)
• ‘Nothing is off the table’ for E.U. sanctions on Russia, says McGuinness (Bloomberg)
• Energy-rich Russia may turn to Bitcoin mining to dent sanctions (Bloomberg)
• Cryptocurrency platform Binance will no longer accept cards of sanctioned Russian banks (Forbes)