The European Union plans to target Russian gold exports in the next round of sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, EU Commissioner Marus Civkovic told a meeting, as agreed by the Group of 7 countries at the end of June. European foreign ministers in Prague
After a sixth package of bans on more Russian oil imports by the end of the year, the European bloc is also looking to close loopholes for those who circumvented the previous set of sanctions against Russia, Sefkovic said. .
Russia annually produces about 10% of the world’s mined gold. The country’s gold assets have tripled since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The ban on Russian gold imports is the latest sanctions targeting Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24.
According to data from the World Gold Council, Russia is the second largest producer of gold in the world, producing more than 331 tons last year.
But Russia’s Finance Ministry revealed that it produced 346.42 tons of gold in 2021, up from 340.17 tons in 2020.
According to official U.S. estimates, Moscow has between $100 billion and $140 billion in gold reserves, roughly 20 percent of the Russian central bank’s reserves.
Source: Lebanon Debate
