Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree expanding the government’s list of unfriendly countries to include the Bahamas, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. This development was announced by the press service of the Russian Cabinet.
The government states that the expanded list targets foreign nations and regions that have taken unfriendly actions against Russia, Russian companies, and Russian citizens. In parallel with the decree, an instruction was issued to implement these changes.
Guernsey lies off the coast of Normandy and is part of Elizabeth II’s crown sovereignty. It is not legally part of the United Kingdom. Like the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, Guernsey is owned by the British crown and is known as an offshore zone where foreign companies face tax-related restrictions.
Both Guernsey and the Isle of Man were added to the unfriendly countries list due to their support for British sanctions against Russia.
The Bahamas, too, was listed among the unfriendly states, officially an independent country in the Atlantic under the crown. The Bahamas previously restricted transactions with the Central Bank of Russia, the Russian Ministry of Finance, and other credit institutions in line with Western sanctions related to the situation in Ukraine.
The Bahamas is located to the east of the Florida peninsula and gained independence in 1973. The islands are situated in the Atlantic, and their political status places them outside of the United Kingdom’s direct governance.
On March 19, the Bahamas’ financial regulator identified approximately $3 billion in Russian-linked assets within the country. Reportedly, about $420 million consisted of deposits, with roughly $2.5 billion held in custody or trusts. It was not specified which portions belonged to Russian citizens listed under sanctions, according to Reuters.
The Russian government explained that the decree expanding the unfriendly list was designed to implement the presidential order on the interim procedure for meeting obligations to certain foreign creditors.
Under the decree, Russian individuals and legal entities, as well as the state, regions, and municipalities, with foreign currency obligations to foreign creditors, may settle those obligations in rubles.
The provisional procedure applies to payments exceeding 10 million rubles or the equivalent in another currency per month, as noted by the Cabinet of the Russian Federation.
As of now, the list of unfriendly states includes more than 48 countries. It encompasses all members of the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and several other nations and territories including Jersey, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, and Japan.
Political scientist Andrei Kortunov commented to Evening Moscow that the list’s expansion may affect ordinary citizens of these states as well. He suggested that visa procedures for Russian entry could become more stringent for citizens of these countries, and for places where visa-free entry previously existed, a visa regime might be reinstated. He also warned that consulates from unfriendly countries could restrict access to the Russian Federation and may struggle to attract Russians to work in their posts. Kortunov added that some bilateral agreements with unfriendly states could be unilaterally cancelled, and cultural centers and other communities in Russia might reduce their operations in response to the actions of these foreign governments.