Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada will all ban Russian gold imports due to the war in Ukraine. The import ban will come into effect soon and will also apply to freshly mined and refined gold.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the ban had “direct consequences” for Russian oligarchs and “Putin’s war machine.” Many oligarchs turn possessions into gold. In this way they are trying to overcome the consequences of the harsh international sanctions against Moscow.

Johnson said the move would effectively ban Russian gold from the global gold market as London plays a key role in the international gold trade and the other three major powers are blocking imports. Gold exports to the Russian economy last year were 14.6 billion euros.

US President Joe Biden has said other G7 countries will also impose sanctions. Other countries have not yet confirmed this. Biden talks on Twitter about “unprecedented spending” on President Vladimir Putin and the financing of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The approval will be officially given at the G7 summit in Elmau, Germany. The major industrialized nations of the world will discuss the consequences of the war in the coming days in Ukraine. A U.S. government official said the import ban would be explained on Tuesday.