Western regulators will struggle to enforce breaches of the Russian oil price cap owing to limited resources and expertise, according to experts.

The complex price cap scheme is due to be introduced alongside a European ban on Russian seaborne crude imports to limit profits to Vladimir Putin’s war chest while keeping oil flowing and markets stable.

Ian Bolton, an architect of sanctions legislation in the UK, said responsibility for enforcing the scheme in the European Union falls on individual nations, with many lacking adequately funded and trained teams.