UK plans to sanction all Russian nationals would breach equality laws, banks say
The UK government’s plans to ban Russians from holding more than £50,000 in UK bank accounts are unfeasible, banks have said.
Banks have told the government that the sanctions measures put in place in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would breach equality laws, which prevent discrimination on the basis of nationality.
The sanctions set out to ban the 70,000 Russian nationals living in the UK from holding more than £50,000 in any UK bank account, as part of the government’s crackdown on Russian money.
However, banks have told the government that its plans would be illegal, and have asked the government for reassurances they will not be sued if they put the measures in place.
The banks also said that implementing the ban would require significant technological improvements as they raised concerns the measures would be too complex to actually put in place.
Others have raised concerns about the effectiveness of banning all Russian nationals from holding more than £50,000, amid concerns the ban would unfairly burden non-sanctioned individuals.
The warnings follow reports that EU member states are struggling to seize oligarchs assets, due to blocks embedded in the law.