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The UK has sanctioned £258.8 billion of Russian bank assets, while the US has sanctioned £240 billion and the EU £38.8 billion.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Twitter

4 March 2022

Facts

On Twitter, Jacob Rees-Mogg shared an infographic, showing that the UK has sanctioned £258.8 billion of Russian bank assets, while the US has sanctioned £240 billion and the EU £38.8 billion.

Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The City of London leads the way in the effects of sanctioning Russian banks.”

When asked by FullFact, the Cabinet Office confirmed that the infographic was based on figures from the FCDO, but gave no further information on what the figures represent or how they were calculated. 

Full Fact concluded: “The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has not explained how it has calculated these figures or detailed what they represent, so they cannot be verified, and it is unclear whether they are comparable.”

The UK Statistics AuthorityCode of Practice says: “Policy, press or ministerial statements referring to regular or ad hoc official statistics should be issued separately from, and contain a prominent link to, the source statistics. The statements should meet basic professional standards of statistical presentation, including accuracy, clarity and impartiality.”

Verdict

It is impossible to verify the FCDO’s figures, meaning that Jacob Rees-Mogg’s announcement is unsubstantiated. His unsupported statement is also in breach of the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice. 

We approached Jacob Rees-Mogg’s parliamentary office and the Cabinet Office to give him a chance to comment, but received no response. 

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