US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Sanction Russia’s Gold – Regulation Bitcoin News

Four U.S. senators are introducing a bill to place sanctions on Russia’s gold. “This legislation would deter the purchase of Russian gold and close this loophole that allows the Russian Federation to soften the financial impact of sanctions,” the senators explained. “By sanctioning these reserves, we can further isolate Russia from the world’s economy and increase the difficulty of Putin’s increasingly-costly military campaign.”

US Lawmakers Seek to Sanction Russia’s Gold

U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Angus King (I-ME) announced Tuesday the introduction of the “Stop Russian Government and Oligarchs from Limiting Democracy (Stop Russian GOLD) Act.”

“The free world’s sanctions are devastating Russia’s economy — and as long as Putin continues his horrific invasion, we must keep up the pressure,” Senator King tweeted. He added that he has joined Senators Cornyn, Hassan, and Hagerty “to introduce sanctions on Russia’s gold reserves.”

His follow-up tweet explained that:

Russia’s gold supply is one of the few remaining assets that Putin can use to prop up his country’s economy. By sanctioning these reserves, we can further isolate Russia from the world’s economy and increase the difficulty of Putin’s increasingly-costly military campaign.

Senator Cornyn described: “Russia has taken a page out of Venezuela’s book by exploiting a loophole in current sanctions that allows them to launder money through the purchase and sale of gold.”

The senators’ announcement explains that “The Russian Federation is purchasing gold to offset the devaluation of its currency, the ruble, and is then selling that gold on international markets in exchange for high-value currency.”

The bill “would apply secondary sanctions to anyone transacting with or transporting gold from Russia’s central bank holdings or selling gold physically or electronically in Russia,” the announcement adds, elaborating:

These secondary sanctions would prevent the Russian Federation’s purchase of Russian gold. They also close the loophole that allows Russia to mitigate the financial effects of sanctions.

Senator Hagerty opined: “These bipartisan secondary sanctions on Russia’s gold transactions will build on the Biden administration’s recent Russia sanctions and further choke off Russia’s economy from capital.”

Many senators worry about Russia using crypto to avoid sanctions. Senator Elizabeth Warren is one of them.

G7 nations and European Union already stated they have taken measures to ensure that cryptocurrency is not used to bypass sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department also stated that it monitors crypto activity to avoid sanctions evasion.

However, experts, such as the CEOs and co-founders of Binance and Coinbase, have stated that cryptocurrency cannot be used to bypass sanctions against Russia.

Carol House, director for cybersecurity at the National Security Council, agreed. She stated: “The scale that the Russian state would need to successfully circumvent all U.S. and partners’ financial sanctions would almost certainly render cryptocurrency as an ineffective primary tool for the state.”

What do you think about U.S. senators introducing a bill to sanction Russia’s gold? Leave your comments below.

Kevin Helms

Kevin is a graduate of Austrian Economics. He discovered Bitcoin in 2011, and has been an advocate ever since. His main interests are in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, cryptography, and intersections between economics, cryptography, and Cryptography.