Time to go after the Kremlin’s wallets
By Doug Klain 
@DougKlain
via UkraineAlert
On February 22, the US, UK, and EU announced a slew of sanctions in response to Russian recognition of the “separatist republics” in eastern Ukraine. The most impactful steps came from the US, which will target Russian sovereign debt, state banks, and the Kremlin elite. The UK announcement was sorely lacking, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson was roundly criticized by both the opposition and his own party for not going further.
A major step that would give the next round of British sanctions some bite would be to follow through on statements Johnson has made before and “unpeel the façade” of Russian holdings in the UK. This would mean exposing beneficial ownership of shell companies, cracking down on kleptocrats stashing their assets abroad, and applying visa restrictions not just to the Kremlin elite but to their family members often sent abroad for education and vacations.
