Australia sanctions Abramovich, Russian oligarchs for Ukraine invasion

Sydney, Australia, Mar 14 (EFE).- The Australian government announced sanctions against Roman Abramovich, owner of the English soccer club Chelsea, as well as 32 other Russian oligarchs and businesspeople and their immediate relatives on Monday as part of a series of measures taken against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions come after the English Premier League disqualified Abramovich as the club’s director on Saturday after the British government froze his assets last week, thus preventing the club from generating income from ticket sales, merchandising and player operations.

Australia, which follows in the footsteps of the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries, also sanctioned other businessmen such as Alexey Miller, chief executive officer at Russian energy multinational Gazprom, and Dmitri Lebedev, chairman of Rossiya Airlines, among others, according to a government statement.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the measures “reinforce Australia’s commitment to sanction those people who have amassed vast personal wealth and are of economic and strategic significance to Russia, including as a result of their connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

Australia, which has sent weapons and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, has already imposed sanctions against 21 financial entities, including 11 Russian banks, and has banned the travel of some 450 people, including Putin and other top Russian officials and oligarchs, as well as to members of the Belrusian government and military. EFE

wat/tw