Russia sees a new round of sanctions; Finance ministers stage a walkout of G20 meeting as Russia speaks

Russia sees a new round of sanctions; Finance ministers stage a walkout of G20 meeting as Russia speaks
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen answers questions about the current and future state of the U.S. and global economy at the Atlantic Council in Washington, U.S., April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis

The US is piling even more sanctions on Russia, with this most recent round targeting “more than 40 individuals and entities led by U.S.-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev” as well as Russian crypto mining company, BitRiver. The US State Department also said it would be imposing visa restrictions on 635 Russian nationals and that it would be giving another US$800 million in weapons and aid to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, at a G20 conference in the US, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, along with a number of other finance leaders from around the world, walked out of a meeting when Russia began to speak.

Key comments:

In a statement, the US Treasury Department said it was targeting “companies operating in Russia’s virtual currency mining industry, reportedly the third largest in the world," noting it was the first time it has “designated a virtual currency mining company."

Many of the visa restrictions were imposed on individuals “who are involved in suppressing dissent in Russia and abroad, who have been involved in activities that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and who have been involved in human rights abuses in prison facilities and places of unofficial detention in Russia-controlled areas of the Donbas region of Ukraine," according to the State Department.