The US has imposed new restrictions on the Russian VTB Bank for bypassing Iran sanctions

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), within the framework of "Operation Economic Ostracism," has sanctioned one of Russia's largest financial organizations, VTB Bank. According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the agency will continue to identify and isolate those providing material, technological, or financial support to the Iranian regime. Radio Tavisupleba+2

According to the US Department of the Treasury, over the last three years, VTB has opened representative offices in Iran, established correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks, and created a settlement system in national currency. Furthermore, the bank ensured the transfer of billions of dollars worth of frozen Iranian assets. Radio Tavisupleba+2

Washington states that VTB is currently one of the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world. The US Treasury Department calls on foreign financial institutions to immediately sever ties with VTB, as they face an increased risk of being subject to secondary sanctions. Radio Tavisupleba+2

According to analyst Miad Malek, this step taken against VTB may represent indirect pressure on China, as the aforementioned bank is the only Russian financial institution that owns a branch in China. Formula

VTB Bank had previously been sanctioned by the US: in 2014 due to the annexation of Crimea, and in 2022 in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Formula+2