The UK has imposed sanctions on Sberbank, follows from the materials of the British Ministry of Finance. The restrictions apply to the bank’s correspondent accounts; it is also prohibited from conducting clearing operations in pounds sterling.
At the same time, it is noted that Sberbank was not subject to full blocking sanctions, which imply the blocking of assets. Earlier, similar measures were taken against the bank by the United States.
The reasoning part of the decision states that Sberbank is the largest bank in Russia in terms of assets and participates in “acquisition of benefits from the Russian government or supports it.” In addition, the bank is described as “an exceptionally significant player in the Russian financial services sector, which is of strategic importance to the Russian government.”
The press service of Sberbank said they will study the restrictions as the documents are made public. “The new sanctions will not have a significant impact on Russian customers from the retail and corporate segments,” the report says.
Earlier, the European Union imposed sanctions against Alfa-Bank, Otkritie, Rossiya Bank and Promsvyazbank due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine. They are cut off from access to the capital market and any type of financial services, and are also prohibited from providing technical assistance or trading in military or dual-use products and technologies, as well as technologies and equipment for oil production on the shelf and in polar latitudes. Last Friday, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the EU sanction would affect 70% of the Russian banking market and important state-owned companies.