LONDON - Britain plans to amend legislation so it can move faster with economic sanctions against oligarchs and businesses associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it said on Friday.

The UK government has faced criticism that it has taken too long to target people with links to Putin.

"The changes we are making will allow us to go faster and harder on those closest to Putin, including oligarchs, as we continue to ratchet pressure in the face of illegal and unprovoked Russian aggression," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.

Since Russia launched the invasion on Feb. 24, Britain has imposed sanctions on 11 wealthy Russians plus Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as four Belarusian military officials.

The first set of amendments to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill will give Britain new powers to more rapidly sanction those who have already been sanctioned by the European Union, the United States or Canada.

The amendments will remove the test of ‘appropriateness’ for designations, enabling the government to act more quickly and further facilitate the designations of groups of individuals, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The government has also brought forward amendments to shorten the deadline for overseas companies to register their beneficial owners from 18 months to six months.

The move, it said, will help crack down on money laundering through UK property, while giving people who hold their property in overseas entities for legitimate reasons appropriate time to comply with the new requirements.

The bill will be expedited through all its lower house of parliament (House of Commons) stages on Monday, with the government looking for swift passage through the upper house (House of Lords) in order to make it law as soon as possible, the government said.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton and Bill Berkrot)