March 8, 2022
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a
member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Banking Committees, has joined
United States Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Angus King
(I-ME) in introducing the Stop Russian Government and
Oligarchs from Limiting Democracy (Stop Russian GOLD) Act, which
would apply secondary sanctions to anyone transacting with or transporting gold
from Russia’s central bank holdings or selling gold physically or
electronically in Russia.
“Because Russia is
intent on using any loophole it can find to get around the economic sanctions
of the United States and our allies, Congress must make it harder for Putin to liquidate
Russia’s gold and use those proceeds to fund its invasion of Ukraine,” said Senator Hagerty. “These bipartisan secondary
sanctions on Russia’s gold transactions will build on the Biden
Administration’s recent Russia sanctions and further choke off Russia’s economy
from capital.”
“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,” said Senator Cornyn. “This legislation would apply
secondary sanctions to parties who help Russia finance their war by buying or
selling this blood gold.”
“With Russia’s economy
in freefall, we need to make sure that Putin can’t circumvent our
sanctions,” said Senator Hassan. “This
bipartisan bill closes a critical loophole that allows Russia to sell off its
gold reserves to prop up its economy. The U.S. and our allies must be
steadfast in standing up to Russian aggression and ensure that we block any
escape hatch Putin has in getting around the full weight of our sanctions.”
“The free world’s
sanctions are devastating Russia’s economy – and as long as Putin continues his
unprovoked and horrific invasion of Ukraine, we must keep up the
pressure,” said Senator King. “Russia’s
massive gold supply is one of the few remaining assets that Putin can use to
keep his country’s economy from falling even further. By sanctioning these
reserves, we will further isolate Russia from the world’s economy and increase
the difficulty of Putin’s increasingly-costly military campaign. We urge the
speedy passage of these bipartisan sanctions to hold Putin accountable for his
crimes.”
Background:
Currently, Russia is
exploiting a loophole in the sanctions placed on its central bank that are
allowing the government and oligarchs to launder money through gold. The
Russian Federation is purchasing gold to offset the devaluation of its
currency, the ruble, and is then selling that gold on international markets in
exchange for high-value currency.
The secondary
sanctions in this legislation would deter the purchase of Russian gold and
close this loophole that allows the Russian Federation to soften the financial
impact of sanctions.
https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/press-releases/2022/03/08/hagerty-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-sanction-purchase-of-russian-gold/
PUBLISHED:03.08.2022
Cornyn,
Hassan, Hagerty, King Introduce Bill to Sanction Purchase of Russian Gold
WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX),
Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Angus King (I-ME) introduced
the Stop Russian Government and Oligarchs from Limiting Democracy
(Stop Russian GOLD) Act, which would apply secondary sanctions to
anyone transacting with or transporting gold from Russia’s central bank
holdings or selling gold physically or electronically in Russia.
"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," said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would apply secondary sanctions to parties
who help Russia finance their war by buying or selling this blood gold.”
“With Russia’s economy in freefall, we need to
make sure that Putin can’t circumvent our sanctions,” said Sen. Hassan. “This bipartisan bill closes a critical loophole that allows
Russia to sell off its gold reserves to prop up its economy. The U.S. and
our allies must be steadfast in standing up to Russian aggression and ensure
that we block any escape hatch Putin has in getting around the full weight of
our sanctions.”
“Because Russia is intent on using any
loophole it can find to get around the economic sanctions of the United States
and our allies, Congress must make it harder for Putin to liquidate Russia’s
gold and use those proceeds to fund its invasion of Ukraine,” said Sen. Hagerty. “These bipartisan secondary sanctions on Russia’s gold
transactions will build on the Biden Administration’s recent Russia sanctions
and further choke off Russia’s economy from capital.”
“The free world’s sanctions are devastating
Russia’s economy – and as long as Putin continues his unprovoked and horrific
invasion of Ukraine, we must keep up the pressure,” said Sen. King. “Russia’s massive gold supply is one of the few remaining
assets that Putin can use to keep his country’s economy from falling even
further. By sanctioning these reserves, we will further isolate Russia from the
world’s economy and increase the difficulty of Putin’s increasingly-costly
military campaign. We urge the speedy passage of these bipartisan sanctions to
hold Putin accountable for his crimes.”
Background:
Currently, Russia is exploiting a loophole
in the sanctions placed on its central bank that are allowing the government
and oligarchs to launder money through gold. The Russian Federation is
purchasing gold to offset the devaluation of its currency, the ruble, and is
then selling that gold on international markets in exchange for high-value
currency.
The secondary sanctions in this legislation
would deter the purchase of Russian gold and close this loophole that allows
the Russian Federation to soften the financial impact of sanctions.
U.S. Proposes
Bipartisan Bill to Freeze Russia’s $130 Billion in Gold Reserves
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