No 10 refused to say which oligarchs were being targeted because of the risk of “asset flight”.
David Cameron welcomed the EU agreement but the Prime Minister called on European countries including France and Germany “to do more” and agree the toughest possible economic penalties against Russia as a whole. EU officials will meet on Thursday to discuss imposing “Tier 3 sanctions” that could include blocks on financial services as well as trade and energy exports.
Asked whether oligarchs were already moving assets out of London, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The measures that have been taken with regard to individuals and entities has got a correlation with some of the financial flows we have seen across Europe including here in London. That’s certainly the case.”
Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, announced on Tuesday that a train carrying some of the passengers and crew killed last Thursday – which included 10 Britons – had arrived in the Ukrainian government-controlled city of Kharkiv. The first bodies have now been flown to Holland.