U.S. Treasury imposes ban on Russian gold imports

The United States has imposed a ban on the import of gold from Russia. The order to that effect has been published on the website of the U.S. Treasury Department.

"The importation into the United States of gold of Russian Federation origin is prohibited, except to the extent provided by law, or unless licensed or otherwise authorized by OFAC," the document says.

"This determination excludes gold of Russian Federation origin that was located outside of the Russian Federation prior to today," the US Treasury notes. The order comes into effect from the moment of publication.

The US Treasury Department notes that the ban in particular applies to all gold-related transactions involving the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund and the Russian Ministry of Finance.