Russia sanctions: UK government underestimating value of strong enforcement

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has increasingly used sanctions designations to target those involved in undermining the oil price cap. The US – widely considered to be the western world’s most aggressive sanctions enforcer – has relied heavily on this approach. Gonzalo Saiz Erausquin, a research fellow and sanctions specialist at RUSI, says that while tactics such as disruption and designations make circumvention harder for Russia, the UK government is underestimating the value of strong enforcement to act as a deterrent. ‘In the end, we’re just forcing them to another alternative structure or jurisdiction; we’re not necessarily ending that activity,’ he says.