Nine Russians Added to Sanctions List

Summary#

These final amendments change the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations to add a new category for people who have taken part in “gross and systematic human rights violations” and to put nine named individuals on Canada’s Russia sanctions list. The regulations were registered and came into force on March 21, 2021 and were published in the Canada Gazette on March 31, 2021.

What it does#

• Creates a new part of Schedule 1 that lists people designated for participating in gross human rights violations.
• Adds these nine named individuals to that new list: Aleksandr Vasilyevich BORTNIKOV, Aleksandr Petrovich KALASHNIKOV, Sergey Vladilenovich KIRIYENKO, Igor Viktorovich KRASNOV, Aleksey Yurievich KRIVORUCHKO, Sergey Ivanovich MENYAILO, Pavel Anatolyevich POPOV, Andrey Veniaminovich YARIN, and Viktor Vasilyevich ZOLOTOV.
• Expands who can be targeted by the regulations to include people who participated in those violations, their associates and family members, and entities owned or controlled by (or acting on behalf of) such people.
• Prohibits Canadians and anyone in Canada from:
  • dealing in any property owned or held for the benefit of a listed person;
  • entering into or facilitating transactions connected to such dealings;
  • providing financial or related services tied to those dealings;
  • making goods available to a listed person; and
  • providing financial or related services for the benefit of a listed person.
• As a consequence, the listed individuals are made inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Who's affected#

• The nine Russian individuals named above.
• People and organizations in Canada, and Canadians abroad, who would otherwise do business with those named people or their property.
• Financial institutions and other service providers in Canada that must block or refuse transactions involving the listed people.
• Enforcement agencies: Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canada Border Services Agency handle compliance and enforcement.
• It is unclear that small Canadian businesses will be directly affected; the government says significant dealings are unlikely.

Why it matters#

• The changes make these people subject to Canada’s economic and travel sanctions. That means Canadian dollars, goods and services can’t be used to help them, and they are barred from entering Canada.
• The amendments are part of Canada’s response to what the government describes as continuing human rights abuses in Russia, including high-profile cases highlighted in the regulatory statement.
• For ordinary Canadians, the most visible effects are on banks and businesses, which must screen and block transactions involving the named people. For the named individuals, the changes mean legal and financial isolation from Canada and possible criminal penalties for willful breaches (fines up to $25,000 or imprisonment up to one year on summary conviction, or up to five years on indictment).