Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada are going to restrict the import of Russian gold as a sanction against Moscow because of the war in Ukraine. The ban on imports should come into force soon and will apply to newly mined and refined gold.

According to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the punitive measure has direct consequences for Russian oligarchs and “Putin’s War Machine”. Many oligarchs convert assets into gold in order to cope with the consequences of the severe international sanctions imposed on Moscow.

According to the British, the measure will effectively ban Russian gold from the world gold market, as London plays a central role in international gold trade and the three other major powers also block imports.