Expert Warns Western Sanctions Credibility Damaged by Lack of Enforcement

A new report from the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) warns that the credibility of Western sanctions against Russia is eroding due to inconsistent enforcement. Mihkel Märtens, the report's author, highlighted a significant gap between the broad legal frameworks established by the US to target foreign banks enabling Russia’s war economy and the actual number of designations made. Despite executive orders authorizing sanctions on institutions facilitating transactions with Russia’s military-industrial base, only one bank, Kyrgyzstan’s Keremet Bank, has been designated to date. Märtens argues that this lack of operationalization diminishes the deterrent effect, encouraging market operators to calculate that the economic benefits of circumventing restrictions outweigh the risks. He cautioned that public signals suggesting a reluctance to impose new sanctions further embolden enablers. While acknowledging the EU’s increased efforts, the expert urged Washington to accelerate its designation pace to maintain the strategic choke point on financial flows supporting Russia’s military industry. The analysis suggests that without timely and substantial enforcement, the West’s legal architecture risks becoming ineffective, potentially rendering previous threats empty and allowing Russia’s enablers to operate with greater impunity.