Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the freeze on the Central Bank of Russia’s external assets is not circumvented by transactions through central banks of other countries.

The measures introduced on 1 March against the Central Bank of Russia, the Russian National Wealth Fund and the Russian Ministry of Finance prevent UK persons from providing financial services related to foreign exchange reserves or asset management to these persons or persons acting on their behalf or their direction. This action was taken in coordination with the EU and the US, who have introduced similar restrictions. This will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its foreign reserves in ways that undermine the impact of sanctions imposed by us and our allies, and to undercut its ability to engage in foreign exchange transactions to support the Russian rouble.