The United States has imposed new sanctions against Russia, including against Russia's Gazprombank, and taken additional measures to limit Russia's use of the international financial system, according to a report posted on the website of the US Treasury Department on Thursday, UNN reports.
Details
"The Ministry of Finance imposes sanctions on dozens of Russian banks, securities registrars and financial officials; the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issues a warning about the risks of joining the Russian financial messaging system," the statement said.
The agency pointed out that today OFAC "took another important step toward fulfilling the commitments made by G7 leaders to limit Russia's use of the international financial system to continue its war against Ukraine.
"OFAC's actions include sanctions against Gazprombank, more than 50 international Russian banks, more than 40 Russian securities registrars, and 15 Russian financial officials. OFAC is also issuing a warning describing the sanctions risks associated with Russia's Financial Reporting System (FRS), which the Kremlin has created and uses to circumvent sanctions," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
"Today's sanctions targeting Russia's largest remaining unauthorized bank and dozens of other financial institutions and officials in Russia will further weaken and degrade Russia's war machine. "These sweeping actions will make it harder for the Kremlin to evade U.S. sanctions and to fund and equip its military," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. - "We will continue to take strong action against any financial channels that Russia uses to support its illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the new US sanctions against Russia's Gazprombank effectively remove this one of Russia's largest banks from the US banking system, prohibit their trade with Americans and freeze their assets in the US.
"Gazprombank is partially owned by the Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom.
"Gazprombank is a conduit for Russia's purchase of military equipment for the war against Ukraine, the US Treasury Department has said. The Russian government also uses the bank to make payments to its soldiers, including combat bonuses, and to compensate the families of its soldiers who died in the war.
The US Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on 50 small and medium-sized Russian banks.
The move is intended to limit the country's ties to the international financial system and prevent it from abusing it to pay for technology and equipment needed for war.
The U.S. Treasury Department has warned that foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent relationships with sanctioned banks face a "significant risk of sanctions.
Along with the sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department also issued two new general licenses that allow U.S. entities to wind down transactions involving Gazprombank, among other financial institutions, and to take steps to reject debt or equity issued by Gazprombank.
The sanctions also targeted officials of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, including First Deputy Governors of the Russian Central Bank Dmitry Tulin and Vladimir Chistyukhin, Head of the National Payment Systems Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Alla Bakina and Head of the Financial Stability Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Elizaveta Danilova.
Ukraine's reaction
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the decision of the US President Joe Biden's administration.
"I am grateful to U.S. President Joseph Biden and his administration for today's strong package of financial and banking sanctions targeting Russia's economy and its military budget. With the measures that targeted Gazprombank, one of Russia's largest banks, as well as its six subsidiaries and more than 50 other financial institutions, the United States has dealt a significant blow to Putin's war machine and further isolated his bloody, corrupt economy from the global marketplace," Zelenskyy said in X. - This comes at a crucial moment when Russia is resorting to missile-blasting in a desperate attempt to destroy what remains of international law. Justice demands that the aggressor pay the full price for this war.
"We are sincerely grateful for America's leadership in defending freedom and for the unwavering bipartisan support of the Congress, which continues to advocate for strong and decisive sanctions. Together we must weaken tyranny and strengthen global security," Zelenskyy emphasized.