An Eton-educated accountant has been sanctioned by the Government over procuring ships for Russia’s “shadow fleet”.

John Michael Ormerod, a 74-year-old shipping industry veteran, furnished Moscow with 25 vessels that helped it avoid Western sanctions on global oil sales, according to an investigation by the Financial Times last year.

The ships helped Russia earn at least $7.2 billion, the newspaper reported, carrying about 120 million barrels of oil.

Announcing fresh sanctions on the fleet, a statement from the Foreign Office said: “This action [against Mr Ormerod] imposes a personal cost on those who are supporting Russia’s trade in oil.”

Donald Trump has also threatened to impose “secondary” sanctions on nations that purchase Russian oil, should Vladimir Putin not commit to peace with Ukraine.

However, he pushed back on the idea of sanctioning Russia itself during a call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and five European leaders on Monday, Axios reported.