Sanctions for Russian billionaires

TWO Russian billionaires with fossil fuel interests in Australia have been slapped with sanctions after the federal government was questioned over why it had been slow to take action against these particular oligarchs.

Oleg Deripaska, who has a stake in a Gladstone alumina refinery, and Viktor Vekselberg, who has an interest in a Beetaloo Basin gas project, have now been sanctioned over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The two men were added to Australia’s sanctions regime on Thursday following media attention after it emerged they had been excluded from the list of 41 Russians who had been targeted.

The oligarchs and their wives and children who have been named by the federal government face penalties including travel bans and financial sanctions such as asset freezes.