- Write by:
-
Thursday, March 10, 2022 - 13:20:40
-
807 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill to impose secondary sanctions to anyone buying or selling Russian gold in an effort to block one of Moscow’s remaining possible avenues for offsetting the collapse of its currency.
Angus King of Maine — along with Republicans John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Hassan — launched the legislation to stop anyone transacting with or transporting gold from Russia’s central bank holdings or selling gold physically or electronically in Russia. Russia’s gold stockpile was valued at $132.3 billion as of the end January.
“By sanctioning these reserves, we can further isolate Russia from the world’s economy and increase the difficulty of Putin’s increasingly-costly military campaign,” King said in a statement on the measure, first reported by Axios.
The move may deter banks in countries such as China and India from buying or lending against Russia’s sovereign gold stockpile, which is the fifth-biggest in the world. Western lenders are already barred from transacting with the central bank, effectively cutting its gold out of the biggest markets in New York and London.
The Bank of Russia spent six years relentlessly buying gold, doubling its holdings as part of an effort to reduce the proportion of dollars held in its reserves. It stopped in March 2020 as prices spiked at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and has largely kept its stockpile steady since. Last month it announced it would resume buying from domestic producers.
While aid to Ukraine is set to be part of a must-pass spending bill congress is racing to finish ahead of a March 11 deadline, it is not yet clear if a ban on Russia oil or additional sanctions would be part of that measure.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Senate was unable to agree on a package of sanctions, in part because of a reluctance to apply them to parties transacting with Russia.
The group of senators said Russia is purchasing gold and then selling it for hard currency, softening the blow from crippling sanctions on its economy from the U.S. and Europe.
“Russia has taken a page out of Venezuela’s book by exploiting a loophole in current sanctions that allows them to launder money through the purchase and sale of gold,” Cornyn said in a statement. “This legislation would apply secondary sanctions to parties who help Russia finance their war by buying or selling this blood gold.”
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/620858
Australian miner Lynas posted a slump in third-quarter sales revenue on Wednesday, missing analyst expectations on the ...
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has re-appointed Winston Chitando as the southern African nation’s mines ...
China’s Zhaojin Mining Industry said on Wednesday that its A$733 million ($477.8 million) offer to buy Australia’s ...
Toronto-listed miner OceanaGold Corp said on Wednesday it will raise 6.08 billion pesos ($106 million) through an ...
Gold’s record-setting rally this year has puzzled market watchers as bullion has roared higher despite headwinds that ...
Australia’s Fortescue on Wednesday logged a larger-than-expected decline in third-quarter iron ore shipments, following ...
The London Metal Exchange is imposing new rules surrounding the movement of metal in its warehousing network, taking aim ...
Canada has granted Airbus a waiver to allow it to use Russian titanium in its manufacturing after becoming the first ...
Interros, Nornickel’s largest shareholder, on Monday called allegations by fellow shareholder Rusal about undervalued ...
No comments have been posted yet ...