Factbox-What's in the EU's 21st package of sanctions against Russia
By Julia Payne
BRUSSELS, July 24 (Reuters) - The European Union's 21st package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine includes measures that target banks, cryptocurrency networks, oil traders, the "shadow fleet" and Russian energy revenues.
The package approved on July 23 includes 218 designations - 170 entities and 48 individuals - making it the bloc's largest sanctions round in four years. The new listings take the number of designations to nearly 3,000.
EU officials are seeking to increase pressure on Russia's vulnerable financial system. A European intelligence report seen by Reuters warned in June that Russia risks an "explosive" banking crisis.
Main Elements of the EU's 21st Sanctions Package
Here are the main elements of the package:
Financial System
• Full asset-freeze sanctions on 94 Russian financial institutions, nearly all banks
• Among the key banks is state-owned Rosselkhozbank, known as Russian Agricultural Bank and one of Russia's largest
• The list also includes e-commerce lenders: Wildberries Bank and Ozon Bank
• Thirty-three Russian banks hit with transaction ban that includes disconnection from the SWIFT international payments system
• Four third-country banks in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Russian banking subsidiaries in India
• Moscow's stock exchange was added to the sanctions list
• Transaction bans on 14 third-country crypto platforms in Georgia, Panama, Marshall Islands, Belarus and United Arab Emirates
• Four designations including in Nigeria linked to A7 crypto network, a Russia-linked cross-border payment company whose rouble-pegged A7A5 stablecoin was banned in a previous package
• New legal basis created to ban transactions with all crypto operators in a third country that helps Russia evade EU sanctions
Notable Designated Individuals
• Vladimir Medinsky, who has headed Russian delegations at peace talks with Ukraine and is described as "a central figure of government propaganda"
• Mikhail Gutseriev, founder and owner of Safmar Group, with interests in oil and gas, real estate and media
• Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the International Chess Federation and a former senior government official
• Oleg Belozerov, head of state-owned Russian Railways
• Alexander Zharov, CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding, over its role in "Kremlin war propaganda and information operations"
Oil and Shadow Fleet
• EU freezes Russian oil price cap at $44.10 per barrel for 12 months, preventing an automatic increase that would have raised it to around $58.50
• 41 shadow-fleet vessels listed taking total to over 670 ships
• Expands criteria to list vessels that provide services or refuel shadow-fleet tankers
• New rule enables EU countries to confiscate and sell cargoes carried by detained shadow-fleet vessels
• 18 entities, 1 person added to sanctions list including three Russian refineries and one in Belarus
• Transaction bans on five oil traders, including United Arab Emirates firm Nexus Oil Trading, two Russian ports and four airports
• Transaction ban with Georgia's Kulevi refinery with implementation delayed by six months
LNG
• Obligation to notify of any LNG tanker sales
• One-year exemption allowing EU operators to continue transferring Russian LNG to non-EU countries under contracts signed before February 24, 2022. The exemption is capped at 2025 volumes and can be renewed
• Other previously agreed restrictions on Russian LNG remain in place
• The EU's Russian LNG import ban will take effect from January 1, 2027
Military Industrial Complex
• 56 entities and persons added to sanctions list for involvement in Russia's military industrial complex
• Out of those, 37 are directly linked to long-range Garpiya drones
• 51 entities added to list of companies that face export restrictions on dual-use goods and tech. Some are in third countries: China, including Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and UAE
• New export bans on specialty metals and alloys like nickel and beryllium powders
• The package also targets actors linked to Russia's satellite communications system being developed as an alternative to Starlink
Other Measures
Import and Export Restrictions
• Import bans on copper, nickel and lead ores, precious-metal ores, unwrought zinc, alkaline-earth metals, zinc and chromium oxides, glassware, imitation pearls and car parts
• Package lists more companies and individuals involved in Russian gold and diamond exports
Legal and Travel Measures
• Stronger protections for European companies against Russian court judgements linked to sanctions
• Agreement to create a mechanism allowing EU countries to deny entry to Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine
Exemptions
• Extends Sakhalin-2 oil and LNG exemptions for Japan until March 31, 2028
• Grants South Korea an LNG exemption until March 31, 2028
(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Timothy Heritage)