BRITAIN ADDS ABRAMOVICH, SECHIN, LEBEDEV TO RUSSIAN SANCTIONS LIST

WASHINGTON/LONDON: Britain imposed sanctions on Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich and Igor Sechin, the chief executive of Russian oil giant Rosneft, hitting them with asset freezes and travel bans because of their links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two billionaires plus businessman Oleg Deripaska and four other Russian oligarchs are the most high-profile figures to be added to the British sanctions list so far.

The action puts on ice Abramovich’s plans to sell the Premier League club, the current European champions, although the government said the team could still carry on playing.

“There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine,” British PM Boris Johnson said.

The others added to the list were Oleg Deripaska, who has stakes in En+ Group, Dmitri Lebedev, chairman of Bank Rossiya, Alexei Miller, the chief executive of energy company Gazprom, and Nikolai Tokarev, the president of the Russia stateowned pipeline firm Transneft.

US approves Russian oil ban bill, Ukraine aid

The House approved legislation barring US imports of Russian oil as lawmakers of both parties demanded stronger punishment of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The 414-17 vote came after President Joe Biden on Tuesday implemented a ban on imports of Russian crude oil and other fossil fuel products, a move made in part because of pressure from lawmakers. The House legislation also takes steps to review Russia’s access to the World Trade Organization and reauthorises and strengthens the Magnitsky Act, which calls for sanctions on human rights offenders.

The ban would go into effect 45 days after it is signed into law. It also has a provision allowing the president to importation of some products if it is “in the national interest”, subject to review by Congress. The House also voted to rush $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine.