The United States and other Group of 7 countries will ban imports of gold from Russia, seeking to undercut a key source of revenue for Moscow as it wages war in Ukraine, President Biden said on Sunday as G7 leaders gathered in the Bavarian Alps.
“Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia,” Mr. Biden wrote on Twitter.
A senior administration official told reporters that the move would be formally announced on Tuesday, and that it would help to further isolate Russia from the international financial system. It is the latest in a series of economic sanctions imposed by Ukraine’s allies, including a crackdown on oil exports, Russia’s largest source of export revenue.
Russia is one of the world’s biggest gold producers, and the metal is its second most valuable export after energy products. Most of those exports go to G7 countries, particularly Britain, through the gold trading hub of London.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said in a statement on Sunday that the actions taken against Russian gold would “directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine.”
“We need to starve the Putin regime of its funding,” he added. “The U.K. and our allies are doing just that.”
The gold sanctions follow extensive steps to cut Russian export revenues. The United States banned oil and gas from Russia, and Europe will prohibit most Russian oil while reducing gas imports. The United States, the European Union and their allies have also placed sanctions on Russian officials and other members of the elite and imposed punishments on Russian banks, airlines and other companies.
