FirstFT: UK auditors seek exemptions from ban on Russia work 

UK accountants and tax consultants are Dilute the government for exemptions from the ban On work for businesses in Russia imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Liz Truss announced plans this month to force British accounting, management and public relations firms to sever ties with Russian clients as part of efforts to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some advisers, including insolvency practitioners, have said the proposed ban would make it dangerous or even impossible to help clients with Russian links meet certain legal obligations like filing tax returns in the UK and elsewhere.

The ban on exporting professional services came following the imposition of economic sanctions in the UK against more than 1,600 Russian people and entities.

Ministers are now considering “very limited exceptions”, such as services needed to clear operations or contracts for companies in the UK that are already leaving Russia, said a person with knowledge of the details.

Companies in the UK, which have a long history of advising Russian companies and wealthy people, account for 10% of Russian imports in the accounting, management and public relations sectors.

Thank you for reading FirstFT Africa / Europe. Here’s the rest of today’s news.

The latest on the war in Ukraine

• Politics of Ukraine: Kyiv has released a video showing Vladimir Putin’s senior ally in the country Accused former President Petro Poroshenko Of serious crimes, indicating the return of internal political battles.

• diplomacy: Diplomat at Russia’s UN Representative in Geneva Resigned in protest Against the invasion of Moscow, saying he was “ashamed” of his country.

• Reconstruction of Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zalansky urged the international community in Davos to do so To help finance the restoration of his countryWhich is estimated to cost $ 500 billion.

Five more news articles

1. The sale of Chelsea has been set for UK approval Of Roman Abramovich A £ 4.25 billion sale by Chelsea Football Club The consortium led by American financier Todd Bohlie is expected to be signed by ministers after weeks of tense negotiations to ensure the oligarch does not benefit from the proceeds.

2. Sunak orders a plan to tax electricity British Chancellor Rishe Sonek has instructed officials to prepare Common tax plans are possible On more than £ 10 billion in surpluses by electricity producers to support households struggling with rising energy bills, in addition to levies on North Sea oil and gas producers.

3. Pictures of Partygate degrees click on Johnson British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under renewed criticism following publicity According to reports, photos show him drinking With officials in 2020 while England was under a four-week closure. The photos were released while senior state employee Sue Gray was preparing her long-awaited report ahead of gatherings on Downing Street and Whitehall.

4. Eurozone end negative interest rate The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagard, has signaled that the Central Bank’s eight-year experiment with Negative rates will end within months, Saying credit costs were on track to reach zero by the end of September. ECB officials estimate the eurozone’s neutral rate at 1 percent to 2 percent.

5.Erdogan says he no longer recognizes the Greek leader Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was Will not meet Kyriakos Mitsotakis At a summit planned this year that accused neighboring Greece leader of lobbying the U.S. against the supply of Ankara in F-16 fighter jets, threatening to deepen a crisis within NATO over the expansion of the alliance.

The day ahead

Economic Data S&P Global’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index will offer a Critical test Of business activity in the eurozone as policymakers consider how soon to start raising interest rates. PMIs have also come out for Germany, France, the US and the UK, where the CBI publishes its quarterly trade survey. The UK public finances in April and net lending in the public sector were also released.

Company profits Best Buy, Cranswick, HomeServe and Ralph Lauren They are among the reporting companies.

Elizabeth Lane opens London’s 18.9 billion £ East-West Railway link, Elizabeth lineIt opened three and a half years later than originally planned, with 73 miles of track and 26 miles of new tunnels built from Berkshire to Essex.

What else are we reading

The UK is looking for innovation hubs to “rank” areas left behind Government wants universities and industry to participate in three “innovation accelerators” in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Glasgow, as part of Efforts to “level up” in areas left behind And reduce regional inequality by improving productivity outside the Southeast.

The war in Ukraine casts a shadow over Davos Once the playground of financiers and executives, the World Economic Forum was fundamentally changed by the Ukraine War, Gideon Rahman writes. Now, politicians and generals are back in control and businessmen, who have assumed for decades that the world is a potential market, are confused.

“Axon of the past is dead” after a shake-up Victory of the Engine Activist Hedge Fund No. 1 a year ago – winning three seats on the board of the conservative Super Major – Shake Axon Leads and Big Oil. Targets to turn activity into net emissions without emissions by 2050, spending constraints on fossil fuel projects and a new low-carbon business are signs of change.

Lebanon’s independence disturbs the political order No bloc has won the Lebanese election this month outright, and long talks are expected before a coalition government is formed. But e Appearance of independent MPs It is a significant change in a country that has long been ruled by former generals, a scion of political dynasties and those backed by foreign money, analysts say.

Monkey pox: what to know about the virus Discovered in laboratory monkeys in 1958 and in man 12 years later, monkey pox usually appears from close contact with animals in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 100 cases have been recorded in at least a dozen countries, e The biggest outbreak of the virus Outside sub-Saharan Africa, when authorities in Western countries warned that the virus was spreading in their communities.

How to spend it

From Lake Como to Colombia, Bordeaux to the Bahamas, how to spend it full of ideas to escape this summer in This special hiking themeWith Opening letter From editor Joe Allison.