Over 80% of Russia’s Banking Sector is Subject to United States Sanctions
Jose Nino
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According to an announcement that the United States Treasury made on February 24, 2023, 80% of the Russian banking sector has been sanctioned. In addition, the US Treasury announced that roughly 2,400 individuals and legal entities have been sanctioned since Russia’s so-called “special military operation” kicked off on February 24, 2022.
“Over 80% of Russia’s banking sector by assets are under U.S. sanctions, including the top 10 Russian-owned banks,” the Treasury highlighted in a document that outlines statistics on sanctions against Russia since its military incursion into Ukraine kicked off.
Per the US Treasury, “more than 1,000 foreign companies reportedly have ceased or curtailed their operations in Russia” since the start of Russia’s invasion.
In the past year, the US Treasury and State Department “have designated over 200 targets associated with Russian sanctions evasion, spanning across Europe, Africa, and Asia, including key transshipment jurisdictions in the Middle East, the Eurasian Economic Union, and East Asia.” The US Treasury also slapped sanctions on nearly a fifth of the Belarus’ financial sector.
Since February 24, 2022, roughly 115 ships and 19 aircraft have been sanctioned.
High-ranking officials from the US Treasury made over 80 trips to 31 countries to “to coordinate on international sanctions so far.”
The multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force, a multilateral organization with the aim of searching and seizing property owned by sanctioned Russian nationals, has frozen the $300 billion in Bank of Russia’s assets.
“Collectively, REPO members have blocked or frozen tens of billions of dollars worth of sanctioned Russians’ assets in financial accounts and economic resources,” the Treasury stated.
REPO “have seized, blocked, or frozen luxury real estate and other luxury assets owned, held, or controlled by sanctioned Russians, valued in the many billions of dollars.”
According to a TASS report, REPO is made up of Finance, Justice, Home Affairs, and Trade Ministers from countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US.
Since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the Collective West has waged an economic war against Russia through a bevy of sanctions and other economic restrictions. Despite all the chest bumping made by Western officials, these sanctions have largely backfired as evidenced by soaring energy costs and Russia’s ever-strengthening relations with China.
When countries are motivated by fanatic foreign policy, unintended consequences are never taken into consideration, much to their populations’ detriment.
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