By Ben Kerrigan-
The UK is stepping up pressure on Russia as Chancellor,John Healey, (pictured) calls on Britain’s allies to intensify efforts to dismantle covert financial networks accused of helping fund Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Speaking during his first international meetings with counterparts at the G20 in North Carolina, Healey is seeking to build a stronger international coalition to identify and disrupt the networks being used to circumvent sanctions and keep money flowing towards Russia’s war effort.
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The move comes as the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the government issue the first nationwide alert against A7, aimed at helping businesses and the private sector identify and clamp down on sanctions evasion. The alert is intended to strengthen the UK’s efforts to ensure that the financial and economic costs of sanctions are fully felt by Russia and those accused of helping sustain its aggression against Ukraine.
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said the UK was increasing economic pressure on Putin and targeting those who help maintain his war machine.
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“We are ramping up the economic pressure on Putin and leaving those aiding his illegal war with nowhere to hide,” Healey said. He called for greater cooperation between Britain and its international partners to expose attempts to evade sanctions and disrupt the financial networks supporting Russia’s military campaign.
“The UK and our allies must step up our international cooperation to expose sanctions evasion, and disrupt the financial networks fuelling Russia’s aggression,” he said. Healey also reaffirmed the government’s support for Ukraine, saying Britain would continue targeting individuals and networks helping to sustain Russia’s war while working towards a lasting peace.
“Our commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people is unshakeable,” he said. “We will bear down on those propping up Putin’s war as we push to secure a just and lasting peace.”
The new nationwide alert is being backed by the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), which is part of the National Crime Agency, as the government seeks closer cooperation with financial institutions and businesses to identify suspicious activity linked to sanctions evasion. Rachael Herbert, director of the NECC at the National Crime Agency, said the agency was focused on the increasingly close relationship between organised crime and attempts to circumvent international sanctions.
“The National Crime Agency and the National Economic Crime Centre are committed to targeting the nexus between organised crime and sanctions evasion,” Herbert said.
She pointed to Operation Destabilise, a major NCA investigation launched last year that targeted a Russian-speaking professional money-laundering network. The operation disrupted the network and made it more difficult for those involved to continue operating, according to the agency.Herbert said the latest alert would build on cooperation between law enforcement agencies, the financial sector and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
She said close collaboration with private-sector organisations was crucial to ensuring companies remained alert to the methods used by networks attempting to bypass sanctions.The government’s latest push reflects a broader effort to move beyond imposing sanctions and towards actively enforcing them, with authorities increasingly focused on the financial infrastructure that allows sanctioned individuals, businesses and networks to continue moving money.
G20, Healey is also seeking to widen international cooperation, arguing that sanctions will have greater impact if countries work together to close loopholes and prevent criminal networks from shifting funds through different jurisdictions.
The UK’s message is that those helping Russia evade sanctions should face increasing scrutiny as Britain and its allies seek to restrict the financial channels supporting the war in Ukraine.The latest measures place the private sector at the centre of that effort, with the government and law enforcement agencies urging businesses to identify potential sanctions-evasion techniques and report suspicious activity.
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