Sanctions on Russia: Did the UK sanction 100 people last week?
- Published
At Prime Minister's Questions, Boris Johnson told MPs the actions the UK had taken in response to the invasion of Ukraine "are having an effect in Moscow".
He said the UK had sanctioned "275 individuals already, a further 100 last week, the impact is being felt".
Mr Johnson has referred to the 100 figure several times in the past week. But when Reality Check asked for the names of the 100, the government could not provide them and said: "We'll let you know as soon as we have further details to add."
Instead, it sent a list of every person and company currently sanctioned by the UK, including people from Iran and North Korea. It shows that 15 individuals were sanctioned last week, external:
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,
Belarusian Deputy Minister of Defence for Logistics Maj Gen Andrei Burdyko,
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus Maj Gen Victor Gulevich
Belarusian Deputy Minister of Defence for Armaments Sergei Simonenko
Belarusian Deputy Minister of Defence Andrey Zhuk,
Russian Direct Investment Fund chief executive Kirill Dmitriev
VTB Bank deputy president Denis Bortnikov
Petr Fradkov, who chairs Promsvyazbank
PAO Sibur Holding board deputy chairman Kirill Shamalov
PJSC United Aircraft Corporation general director Yury Slyusar
Elena Georgieva, who chairs the board of Novikombank
Bank Rossiya major shareholder Gennadiy Timchenko
SMP Bank director Boris Rotenberg
Igor Rotenberg, who chairs the board of National Telematic Systems
When asked about this, the prime minister's spokesman said there were 100 individuals and entities.
While the prime minister specified individuals, adding companies doubles the number, but still does not get to 100.
But UK officials told BBC News that the figure also includes the major subsidiaries of the companies. They said, for example, the sanctioned company Rostec has about 60 subsidiaries, all of which could count towards the number sanctioned.
When it was suggested to Security Minister Damian Hinds on BBC Breakfast on Thursday that only eight Russian oligarchs had become the target of new sanctions, he responded: "what you say is in the right area, but there are going to be more".
We also asked about the 275 figure Mr Johnson mentioned but the government did not provide the details.
Of all the people on the list (not just those sanctioned last week), we counted 195 who had been sanctioned as a result of measures linked to Russia.
These date back to events such as the Salisbury poisonings, when a former Russian spy and his daughter were targeted by Russian agents.
List promised
On Wednesday, Mr Johnson said the government would publish a list of all those with assets related to the Kremlin but failed to say when.
Sanctions he has announced so far include:
assets of all major Russian banks will be frozen and excluded from the UK financial system
President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have had their assets frozen
Russian companies and the state will be prevented from raising finance or borrowing money on UK markets
Aeroflot will be banned from landing in the UK
a suspension of dual-use export licences to cover components for military purposes
a stop to exports of high-tech items and oil refinery equipment
a limit on deposits Russians can make in UK bank accounts
Russia attacks Ukraine: More coverage
THE BASICS: Why is Putin invading Ukraine?
RUSSIA: Watching the war on TV
IN DEPTH: Full coverage of the conflict
