U.K. to Name Russians Facing Visa Bans Under New Sanction Rules

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will name the first foreign citizens from Russia, Saudi Arabia and North Korea to face sanctions for alleged human rights abuses, as he sets out the British version of the U.S. Magnitsky Act in Parliament on Monday.

Raab’s sanctions will involve visa bans and assets freezes and are expected to target Saudi citizens suspected of involvement in the killing of the columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The Magnitsky Act is named for Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian lawyer who died in a Moscow jail in 2009 after alleging officials were involved in tax fraud.

By pursuing its own sanctions regime after leaving the European Union, the U.K. risks undermining its existing relations with foreign countries -- though Raab’s office said in a statement Britain will continue its involvement in United Nations and EU multilateral sanctions regimes.

“This is a clear example of how the U.K. will help to lead the world in standing up for human rights,” Raab said in an emailed statement. “We will not let those who seek to inflict pain and destroy the lives of innocent victims benefit from what the U.K. has to offer.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.