Hunt to act on Uae-russia backdoor

JEREMY HUNT has pledged to launch a further crackdown on Russia amid fears that Vladimir Putin is using countries such as the United Arab Emirates to dodge Western sanctions.

The Chancellor said the Kremlin’s sanctions evasion remained a concern at the highest level as he said world leaders were exploring ways to “toughen it up” in meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Several companies based in the UAE have already been sanctioned by the US for selling aircraft parts and equipment to Russian firms. The US Treasury took action against a Uae-based shipping company, Hennesea Holdings, yesterday. Hennesea was founded in 2022 and bought a fleet of 18 ships that officials claim have repeatedly docked at Russian ports. The US government said Hennesea has been trading in Russian oil above a $60 per barrel cap imposed by G7 countries, the EU and Australia aimed at depriving Russia of income. US citizens can no longer do business with Hennesea.

Last November, the UK also sanctioned a Uae-based network responsible for channelling more than $300m (£235m) in gold revenues to Russia.

Asked if Britain and other Western countries are doing enough to stop money laundering in countries such as the UAE, Mr Hunt said: “Dealing with people who are getting round the sanctions we have against Russia is on the agenda at every finance minister’s meeting that I go to with my G7 colleagues.”

While Mr Hunt refused to detail any fresh sanctions against countries aiding Russia, he said: “We continue to want to tighten the sanctions regime. And we continually review where we think it’s being breached and where we can toughen it up.”

A senior G7 source said leaders were scrambling to implement a fresh round of Russian sanctions amid expectations that Donald Trump was likely to be elected president this autumn.