Canada Expanded Sanctions Against Lukashenka Regime
- 6.04.2022, 8:31
The list includes businessmen and representatives of the Ministry of Defense.
Canada has added nine citizens of Belarus to its sanctions lists. They are businessmen and representatives of the Defense Ministry. Canadian Foreign Ministry announced about the decision on Tuesday.
The list includes Deputy Defense Minister Andrei Zhuk, Andrei Burdyka and Siarhei Simanenka.
As well as businessmen close to the government circles and personally to Aliaksandr Lukashenka:
Aliaksandr Shakutsin - owner of Amkodor;
Uladzimir Peftsiyeu - former owner of Beltechexport (arms trade), Sport Pari, Business Network, Akvadiv and other companies, which changed ownership after Peftsiyeu fell under EU sanctions in 2011;
Anatol Tsernauski - Univest-M (oil and construction) and other companies, was also under EU sanctions a decade ago and has changed the structure of business to circumvent them;
Pavel Tapuzidzis - owner of Tabak-Invest JV LLC (Karona hypermarkets and tobacco business);
Yauhen Baskin - owner of Servolux group of companies;
Valiantsin Baiko - owner of Conte Spa, Senator.
All but Baskin and Baiko are already under current EU sanctions.
Putting them on Canada's sanctions list means that their possible assets in Canada will be frozen and they will be banned from entering the country. Canadian representatives are also banned from providing them any assistance, trading with them on a wide range of goods, and transferring and selling technology and equipment.
Canada has also expanded sanctions against Russia: it has banned the provision of insurance and underwriting services for Russian aircraft and put nine Russians on the sanctions list as well. These are businessmen close to the authorities: Vladimir Potanin, Viktor Vekselberg, Kirill Shamalov (believed to be Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law), Leonid Mikhelson, Vadim Moshkovich, Aleksandr Vinokurov, Dmitry Pumpyansky and Galina Pumpyanskaya. Also the list includes Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
All these people were put on the sanctions list because they "facilitated and allowed violations of Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence".