In the June 2022 Group of Seven Leaders’ Communique, the Government joined with G7 partners to state our collective intent to reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversify their nuclear fuel supply chains.

To this end, the Government has led discussions within the ‘Sapporo 5’ group of nuclear energy leaders Canada, France, Japan, and the United States to identify potential areas of collaboration on nuclear fuels, with the goal of reduced global dependence on Russian supply chains. UK regularly raises the topic of dependency on Russia for civil nuclear goods and materials with likeminded international partners and supports efforts to diversify.

Russian ships have been banned from UK ports, following UK sanctions against Russia. The ban includes any vessels owned or operated by anyone connected to Russia.

The UK will also stop importing Russian oil by the end of this year, building on the Government’s package of international economic sanctions.

The Government is confident that this can be achieved over the course of the year, providing enough time for companies to adjust while ensuring consumers are protected. The Government is already providing support worth around £21 billion during this year, and next, to help people with the cost of living and will continue to monitor the economic impact of the conflict and keep its approach under review.

The Department for International Trade has expanded its Export Support Service (ESS) to act as a single point of enquiry for businesses and traders with questions relating to the situation in Ukraine and Russia. Any business that has question about trading with Ukraine or Russia can visit the GOV.UK website to contact the export support team, or call our helpline using the number 0300 303 8955.

The Government brought forward amendments to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill to shorten the deadline for overseas companies already owning land in England and Wales, and Scotland, to register their beneficial owners from 18 months to 6 months. This will help crack down on money laundering through UK property, whilst giving people who hold their property in overseas entities for legitimate reasons appropriate time to comply with the new requirements. The Bill has now received Royal Assent.

The vast majority of the beneficial owners of entities holding properties on the register will be entirely law-abiding. A 6-month transition period strikes a balance in allowing for the free enjoyment of property and maintaining the UK’s reputation as a stable investment environment whilst ensuring property owners register their beneficial owners.

We will give owners six months to register, because if they do not comply in time their property rights will be affected. The Government does not interfere with individuals’ rights lightly and this interference could not have reasonably been expected when such rights were acquired. It is important to remember that the majority of properties will be held via overseas entities by entirely law-abiding people.

The new register is a measure designed to inform investigatory work by the National Crime Agency and others, and will help clean up our property market in the long-term. It is not a necessary precondition of taking swift action to sanction individuals now.

Contracts remain a commercial matter for businesses. Where businesses seek to sever contracts with Russian entities, we recommend seeking independent legal advice. The Department for International Trade have expanded its Export Support Service (ESS) to act as a single point of enquiry for businesses and traders with questions relating to the situation in Ukraine and Russia. Any business that has question about trading with Ukraine or Russia can ask the export support team by visiting the GOV.UK website, or call our helpline using the number 0300 303 8955.

If a foreign company does not comply with the new obligations relating to the Register of Overseas Entities set out in the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill, criminal sanctions are in place. These include fines or a prison sentence of up to 5 years. The company’s rights over its property will also be affected. We have also included a new provision to allow the imposition of financial penalties for non-compliance without the need for criminal prosecution.