July 14) sources reported that the European Union’s seventh sanctions package will put an embargo on Russian gold imports. If this happens, the EU will join the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan, which each already banned Russian gold imports some time ago .
In the meantime, the Union of Gold Producers of Russia is reportedly in a state of panic. In a recent open letter, the union noted that, if the situation in the Russian gold industry does not change soon, “it might suffer irreparable damage.” Specifically, the letter stated that, without massive support from the government, the fate of at least 400 small- and medium-sized artels may be sealed.
Second, Moscow will cultivate a reliance on counterfeit trading, which, given Russia`s so-called “parallel import” strategy, is a viable option. In fact, Russian experts are already citing the example of South Africa, which—when subjected to international sanctions in the 1970s amid Apartheid—evaded gold-related sanctions that prohibited exports of gold bullion bars by starting to mint its own coins , which crippled the sanctions’ effectiveness .
Finally, a review of Russian sources that analyze Russia`s four-largest gold producers presents the following picture :