As the military action in Ukraine intensifies, Canada continues to impose pressure upon Russia by way of, among other things, economic sanctions.
As described in detail in our client alert of February 28, 2022, Canada published its first two rounds of sanctions applicable to each of Russia and Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and announced a third round of sanctions for Russia on February 25, 2022, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated would target Russian President Vladimir Putin, his former chief of staff Sergei Ivanov, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Canada also announced additional sanctions for Belarus, targeting 57 individuals, for aiding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.[1]
On March 1, 2022, Canada published two further amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations (the “Russia Regulations”),[2] and on March 2, 2022, announced its fourth round of sanctions for Russia, focusing on the Russian energy sector.[3]
The amendments for Belarus, announced on February 25, 2022, remain forthcoming.
New Russian sanctions target 18 members of Russia’s Security Council, including President Putin
In an amendment effective February 28, 2022,[4] Canada added an additional 18 individuals to Schedule 1 of the Russia Regulations, to which listed persons the general dealings prohibitions apply. This bring the total number of listed persons in Schedule 1 of the Russia Regulations to 520 — up from 130 (or 300%) before the two February 24, 2022 amendments were published (see our February 28, 2022 client alert for specifics on those amendments).
According to the Canadian government’s website, these individuals are “members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation responsible for these actions, including President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko, and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov”.[5]
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