On February 17, 2015, the Government of Canada announced a new round of sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian individuals and entities, including leading Russian oil firm NK Rosneft OAO.
In response to what Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the "escalated acts of aggression" in recent weeks by Russian-backed fighters in Eastern Ukraine, Canada amended the list of designated persons under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations and the Special Economic Measures (Ukraine) Regulations to impose travel bans against 37 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and economic sanctions against 17 Russian and Ukrainian entities.
It is prohibited for Canadians to engage in most business dealings with listed individuals or entities. Importantly, the newly-expanded list now includes Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, as well as military officials, politicians and leaders of Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine. Canada's amendments will prevent Canadians from providing new debt financing to specific listed entities, including Rosneft. This new round of sanctions brings Canada's regime into step with the US and EU, which have imposed sanctions limiting access to capital markets on Rosneft since July and September 2014, respectively.
According to the Prime Minister's office, the imposition of sanctions is closely related to developments on the ground. The Prime Minister's statement made clear that Canada is "closely monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement" and is "prepared to take further action against Russia and Russian-backed insurgents should they fail fundamentally to implement the provisions of this accord."
The newly sanctioned individuals and entities are as follows:
Russian Individuals
- Anatoly ANTONOV, Deputy Minister of Defence
- Sergey CHEMEZOV, Chief Executive Officer of Rostec
- Andrei KARTAPOLOV, Director of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
- Dmitry KISELYOV, prominent Russian journalist and known associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin
- Iosif KOBZON, Member of the State Duma Valery Kulikov, Rear Admiral in the Russian Navy
- Aleksey NAUMETS, Major-General in the Russian Army
- Alexander NOSATOV, Rear Admiral in the Russian Navy
- Valery RASHKIN, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma
- Igor TURCHENYUK, Lieutenant General in the Russian Army
- Alexander ZALDOSTANOV, Leader of the Night Wolves Motorcycle Club
Russian Entities
- Public Movement "Novorossiya"
- Rosneft
Ukrainian Individuals
- Larisa AIRAPETYAN, "Health Minister" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Eduard BASURIN, "Deputy Commander" of the Ministry of Defence of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Olga BESEDINA, "Minister of Economic Development and Trade" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Oleg BUGROV, "Defence Minister" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Vladyslav DEYNEGO, "Deputy Head" of the "People's Council" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Pavel DREMOV, aka "Batya" aka "Kazak", Commander of the "First Cossack Regiment"
- Ekaterina FILIPPOVA, "Minister of Justice" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Sergey IGNATOV, "Commander in Chief" of the "People's Militia" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Zaur ISMAILOV, "Acting General Prosecutor" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Ravil KHALIKOV, "First Deputy Prime Minister", and previously served as the "Prosecutor-General", of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Ihor KOSTENOK, "Minister of Education" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Serhiy KOZYAKOV, "Director" of the "Luhansk Central Election Commission"
- Lesya LAPTEVA, "Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Religion" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Sergey LITVIN, "Deputy Chairman" of the "Council of Ministers" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Evgeny MANUILOV, "Minister of Budget" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Yevgeniy MIKHAYLOV, "Head of the administration for governmental affairs" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Alexey MILCHAKOV, aka "Fritz" aka "Serbian", Commander of the "Rusich" Unit
- Dmitry NEKLYUDOV, "Deputy minister of interior" of the so-called "Republic of Crimea"
- Yevgeniy ORLOV, Member of the "National Council" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Arseny PAVLOV, aka "Motorola", Commander of the "Sparta Battalion"
- Dmitry SEMYONOV, "Deputy Prime Minister for Finances" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Aleksandr SHUBIN, "Minister of Justice" of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic"
- Yuriy SIVOKONENKO, Member of "Parliament" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Aleksandr TIMOFEEV, "Minister of Budget" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
- Mikhail TOLSTYKH, aka "Givi", Commander of the "Somali Battalion"
- Viktor YATSENKO, "Minister of Communications" of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic"
Ukrainian Entities
- Cossack National Guard
- Donetsk Republic
- Free Donbass
- Kalmius Battalion
- Luhansk Economic Union
- Oplot
- Peace to Luhansk Region
- People's Union
- Prizrak Brigade
- Profaktor, TOV
- Smert aka Death Battalion
- Somali Battalion
- Sparta Battalion
- The South-East Movement
- Zarya Battalion
Please note that this publication presents an overview of notable legal trends and related updates. It is intended for informational purposes and not as a replacement for detailed legal advice. If you need guidance tailored to your specific circumstances, please contact one of the authors to explore how we can help you navigate your legal needs.
For permission to republish this or any other publication, contact Amrita Kochhar at kochhara@bennettjones.com.
Bennett Jones