Senate Bill Seeks to Close Sanctions Loophole Involving Russian Gold
A Senate bill with bipartisan support could apply secondary sanctions on anyone transacting or transporting gold from Russia’s central bank holdings or selling gold in Russia. The Stop Russian Government and Oligarchs from Limiting Democracy Act, introduced this week, would look to close a “loophole” in U.S. sanctions that allows Russian oligarchs to launder money through gold, the sponsoring senators said March 8. The bill would authorize secondary sanctions to “deter the purchase of Russian gold and close this loophole that allows the Russian Federation to soften the financial impact of sanctions.”
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Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., who helped introduce the bill, said Russia “is intent on using any loophole it can find to get around the economic sanctions” and urged Congress to close all remaining loopholes. “Congress must make it harder for Putin to liquidate Russia’s gold and use those proceeds to fund its invasion of Ukraine,” Hagerty said. “These bipartisan secondary sanctions on Russia’s gold transactions will build on the Biden Administration’s recent Russia sanctions and further choke off Russia’s economy from capital.” Hagerty introduced the bill alongside Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Angus King, I-Maine.