The group of the world's seven richest democracies will announce a ban on Russian gold imports on Tuesday as part of ongoing efforts to hold Russia accountable for its war in Ukraine and block attempts to evade Western sanctions, the report said. Sunday a senior official of the US Administration. Britain and the United States will announce the move on Sunday, followed by an official announcement on Tuesday, the official said.

The United States has united the world in imposing rapid and significant economic costs on Russia to deny President Vladimir Putin the revenue he needs to finance his war in Ukraine.

Biden said on Twitter that "together with the G7 we will announce that we are banning the import of Russian gold, a major import bringing in tens of billions of dollars to Russia."

The US Treasury Department declined to comment.

Western sanctions on Russia have not directly targeted commercial gold shipments, but many banks, shippers and refiners stopped trading in the Russian metal after the conflict in Ukraine began.

Gold is a crucial asset for the Russian central bank, which has faced restrictions on accessing some of its assets abroad due to Western sanctions.

Shares of Russian gold miners traded abroad have collapsed this year amid difficulties including selling gold and repaying loans to sanctioned banks.

Russia produces around 10% of the gold mined globally each year. His gold holdings have tripled since he annexed Crimea in 2014.

Banning the import of Russian gold would be the latest of several sanctions against Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which has killed or injured thousands.