On February 28, Canada further amended its sanctions measures on the Russian Federation to:
- designate 18 individuals including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, other members of the Russian Security Council and other Russian officials under Schedule 1;
- transfer the designation of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federal and Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation from Schedule 3.1 to Schedule 1.
The designation under Schedule 1 imposes an asset freeze and dealings prohibition, subject to limited exceptions, which prohibits any person in Canada or any Canadian outside Canada to:
- deal in any property, wherever situated, held by or on behalf of a designated person whose name is listed in Schedule 1;
- enter into or facilitate, directly or indirectly, any transaction related to such a dealing;
- provide any financial or other related services in respect of such a dealing;
- make any goods, wherever situated, available to a designated person listed in Schedule 1;
- provide any financial or related service to, or for the benefit of, a designated person listed in Schedule 1.
With the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federal and Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation being designated persons under Schedule 1, the sectoral sanction imposed on these parties pursuant to the legislative amendments published on February 24th (see our article published on February 27th) have been repealed along with Schedule 3.1. Please note that these amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations came into force on February 28th.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced that Canada intends to implement sanctions measures that will ban all imports of Russian crude oil. Specific details of this import ban are not yet available, however, we will continue to monitor this particular development and provide further details once the related legislation becomes available.
Due to ongoing developments in the region, Canada may announce and implement further measures in alignment with its allies in the coming days. We will publish additional articles as measures are announced in an official capacity.
Unofficial copies of the legislative amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations that came into effect on February 28th are available on Global Affairs’ website at here and here.
