UK to freeze assets of major Russian banks in new sanctions

The UK will freeze the assets of major Russian banks and cut off large Russian firms from raising capital in a package of economic sanctions announced by Boris Johnson today, which has been described as the largest ever by a British government.

This will include VTB Bank, the country’s second-largest bank, having its British assets frozen and being banned from doing business in the UK immediately.Johnson’s package of measures, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this morning, also includes plans to ban Russia from issuing state bonds in the UK, banning Aeroflot from landing in British airports and the sanctioning of 100 “individuals, entities and their subsidiaries”.