The U.S. Department of the Treasury has expanded its sanctions list to include Gazprombank and over 50 other Russian banks. This information was provided by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The sanctions aim to weaken Russian financial institutions and, as stated, the "military machine of Russia."
Gazprombank, through which ruble payments for gas have been conducted since 2022, has now come under strict U.S. restrictions for the first time. Previously, only the bank's top executives were included in the sanctions list, and its main operations were unaffected. The bank stated that the sanctions would not impact its operations in Russia.
“Gazprombank and all its systems and offices are operating as usual,” the press service stated. However, the financial institution later warned clients about potential issues with UnionPay cards abroad.
“From November 21, difficulties may be observed with the functioning of UnionPay cards abroad. If you are overseas, we recommend using cash,” the bank's message said.
According to a statement from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. Treasury has authorized operations related to the Sakhalin-2 project with Gazprombank until June 28, 2025.
In addition to Gazprombank, the sanctions list includes:
- Dom.RF - a major player in the mortgage lending market;
- BCS Bank - one of the leaders in the securities sector;
- other financial institutions, including Veybank, Vitabank, Autofinance Bank, Uglemetbank, National Standard Bank, and Finstar Bank.
Among the individuals sanctioned are the first deputy chairmen of the Central Bank of Russia, Vladimir Chistyukhin and Dmitry Tulin, as well as heads of key departments of the regulator.
The U.S. Treasury issued a warning about the risk of sanctions for foreign financial institutions that connect to the Russian Financial Messaging System (similar to the SWIFT system).
Previously, Spot reported that the UK, following the U.S., imposed sanctions against Uzstanex.