"Roman Abramovich is by far the most prominent Russian Oligarch in the UK due to his ownership of Chelsea Football Club. Abramovich has always admitted to his friendship with the Russian President but denies being one of his inner circle.

Yesterday, the UK Government made the decision that it believes that Putin and Abramovich have a close relationship, and along with six other wealthy and influential Oligarchs Abramovich was subjected to stringent sanctions.

Abramovich had already put the football club up for sale, but the sanctions will mean that the sale will be put on hold or, at least, any transfer of ownership will be done on the Government’s terms. The sanctions include a ban of purchases or sales of players, the sale of merchandise and tickets for games only being available if they have already been sold.

While in the grand scheme, this is not an important move, it symbolizes the Government’s determination to make life as difficult as possible for those who benefit either in status or financially from their relationship to the Russian leader.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet next week not only to decide on any change in monetary policy, but it will also deliver its latest review of the UK economy. The only question about the review is just how downbeat it is likely to be.

"

Beyond Currency Market Commentary:

Aims to provide deep insights into the political and economic events worldwide that can cause currencies to change and how this can affect your FX Exposure.