Another two Russian financial companies – including a commercial bank – were sanctioned Wednesday by Treasury’s foreign financial assets control office, which cited the firms’ efforts to evade previously imposed sanctions on other institutions.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it sanctioned Transkapitalbank (TKB), a Russian commercial bank, and its subsidiary, Joint Stock Company Investtradebank, for sanctions evasion activity connected to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In a release, Treasury noted that representatives of the bank “have offered services to several banks in Asia, including within China and the Middle East, and suggested options to evade international sanctions.”
Treasury and OFAC characterized the bank’s actions as being “at the heart of sanctions evasion.”
“TKB representatives have offered services to several banks in Asia, including within China, and the Middle East, and suggested options to evade international sanctions,” the agencies said. “For example, to avoid detection and sanctions-derived restrictions, TKB has offered its clients the ability to conduct transactions via its proprietary Internet-based banking system, known as TKB Business, an alternative communication channel to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network, including for the purpose of processing U.S. dollar payments for sanctioned clients.
“TKB has also sought to create a settlement hub in Asia without involving U.S. or European banks in the clearing process,” the agencies said.
Treasury said OFAC also targeted a worldwide sanctions evasion and malign influence network led by Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, and announced action against Russian virtual cryptomining firms.
U.S. Treasury Designates Facilitators of Russian Sanctions Evasion