Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Britain, Canada, Japan and the United States (US) announced to stop imports of gold from Russia. This action is expected to be able to suppress the Russian economy, which is currently being sanctioned for its attack on Ukraine.
“(This action) will directly hit the Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of (President Vladimir) Putin’s war machine,” British Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson was quoted as saying. Reuters (26/6/2022).
It is estimated that Russian gold will be worth 12.6 billion pounds, or $15.5 billion, to the Kremlin economy by 2021, accounting for more than 5% of total exports. Apart from being Russia’s main export, gold also serves as a protective asset.
The biggest destination country for Russia’s gold exports is the UK. The portion reaches 90.5% of the total world gold exports. Then followed by Kazakhstan, Turkey, Switzerland and India.
The UK itself is a member of the G7 and a center for global gold trading. So that Britain’s firm stance against gold exports is expected to have a major impact on the Russian economy.
“With this new ban on imports of Russian gold, more than 13.5 billion pounds of our imports from Russia will be protected by restrictions. Given London’s role at the heart of global gold trade, this shows the UK will take tough steps to stop Russia’s war machine,” he said. British Chancellor Rishi Sunak, as reported by Business Standard.
I am pleased that after discussions with others on the G7 Financial Track, the US, Canada and Japan will join us in implementing these actions, closing the way for the sale of Russian gold and maximizing the impact we can have on Putin and his cronies,” he added. .
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Photo: OEC Russia’s Gold Export Destinations- – |
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