Canada sanctions nine Belarusian banks

April 12, BPN. Canada introduced new sanctions against nine Belarusian banks in response to Belarusian authorities’ support of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Canadian government’s press office reported.

The National Bank of Belarus, Belarusbank, Biełahraprambank, Priorbank, Sberbank, BelVEB Bank, Belgazprombank, VTB Bank (Belarus) and Statusbank are among those affected by new restrictions.

On February 15, Canada amended its Special Import Measures Regulations, designating Belarus and Russia as non-market economies. Earlier, only Vietnam, China and Tajikistan were assigned this status.

On March 28, Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced plans to extend indefinitely the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the preferential trading partners list. It means that Canada will apply a 35 percent duty to exports from both countries.

Currently, a total of over 180 Belarusian officials are under Canadian sanctions for supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine and human rights abuse in Belarus.

Belarus’ opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja visited Canada in November 2022 and had a number of high-level meetings, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly. At the time of her visit, Canada sanctioned more than a dozen of officials and 16 companies from the military-industrial, engineering, and banking sectors.