New UK sanctions target a range of sectors – but no words about the City of London's role in
helping the Belarusian regime raise money, say MPs.
London, Aug. 11.– The British government has come under fire from prominent opposition MPs over the effectiveness of its new sanctions on Belarus.
The new package of sanctions came in response to the crackdown on peaceful protesters that followed president Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in last year’s Belarusian elections.
The sanctions target the aviation, financial and trade sectors, and include any future securities and other money-market instruments – but not the $1.25bn in sovereign debt that Belarus raised in June 2020 via the London Stock Exchange.
“Belarusian indebtedness to UK investors provides some of the clout needed to add to the pressure on the regime to halt its abuse of human rights and attacks on political opponents,” Labour MP John McDonnell told openDemocracy.
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