Australia Imposes New Sanctions to Tie up Russian Sovereign Debt, Banking Sector

People queue outside a branch of Russian state-owned bank Sberbank to withdraw their savings and close their accounts in Prague on Feb. 25, 2022, before Sberbank closed all its branches in the Czech Republic later in the day. Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images

The Australian government has slapped additional sanctions on Russian banks and government entities, which control most of the country’s banking assets and its sovereign debt.

The March 18 announcement by Foreign Minister Marise Payne will see the Russian Wealth Fund and Ministry of Finance placed under sanctions, both entities are responsible for issuing and managing the country’s sovereign debt.