A Kurdish family sleeps at the border of Poland and Belarus, awaiting admittance into the country. AFP
A Kurdish family sleeps at the border of Poland and Belarus, awaiting admittance into the country. AFP
A Kurdish family sleeps at the border of Poland and Belarus, awaiting admittance into the country. AFP
A Kurdish family sleeps at the border of Poland and Belarus, awaiting admittance into the country. AFP

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US, Canada and EU co-ordinate to slap new sanctions on Belarus

The two countries and the European bloc began applying pressure after Alexander Lukashenko initiated a crackdown on protests in 2020

Holly Aguirre
Holly Aguirre

December 02, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

The US, Canada and EU ramped up pressure on Thursday on the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, expanding sanctions on officials and other entities for reportedly causing a migration crisis in Europe for political gain.

“Today's actions demonstrate our unwavering determination to act in the face of a brutal regime that increasingly represses Belarusians, undermines the peace and security of Europe, and continues to abuse people seeking only to live in freedom,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The group of allies has continued to increase sanctions on Belarus since Mr Lukashenko began to crack down on protests over his disputed 2020 re-election.

The EU, Canada and the US claim Belarus responded to the mounting sanctions by encouraging thousands of migrants —— mainly Syrians, Iraqis and Yemenis —— to fly to Minsk and then head to the border with the EU.

“We again demand that the Lukashenko regime immediately and completely halt its orchestrating of irregular migration across its borders with the EU. Those in Belarus or in third countries who facilitate illegal crossing of the EU’s external borders should know this comes at a substantial cost,” read a joint statement released by the US Department of State.

The Belarus state airline Belavia, tour operators and hotels that have collaborated with the government in luring thousands of Middle Eastern migrants to the Polish and Lithuanian borders have also been sanctioned.

The sanctions statement also called for the release of some 900 political prisoners, for the immediate implementation of the Moscow and Vienna Mechanisms of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

“The regime should promptly enter into comprehensive and genuine political dialogue with representatives of the democratic opposition and civil society, facilitated by the OSCE, leading to new free and fair presidential elections under international observation,” the US statement said.

In its own statement, the EU demanded the Lukashenko regime stop its campaign of human trafficking.

“The European Union will not tolerate the orchestrated and politically motivated instrumentalisation of human beings by the Lukashenko regime,” the EU said in a statement.

Separately, Britain labelled several journalists as “propagandists” for the Lukashenko government and also blacklisted Belaruskali, one of the world's leading producers of potash fertilisers.

“These sanctions continue to target important sources of revenue to the Lukashenko regime and place severe restrictions on those responsible for some of the worst anti-democratic acts in Belarus,” said UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

Washington said its sanctions are focused on “migrant-smuggling and victimisation of migrants".

Agencies contributed to this report

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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