Missed opportunities

Late in December 2023, the United States Treasury warned that it would apply sanctions on foreign banks for evading the Russian price cap and called on them to boost compliance. Playing it safe, banks in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that work with Russia increased checks. They have now begun asking for extra documentation and have trained more staff to make sure deals were compliant with the price caps, Reuters reported, quoting eight sources familiar with the matter. Russian oil firms are consequently facing delays of up to several months or even rejection of money transfers into their accounts in Moscow. Cautious of US secondary sanctions, these banks are now asking clients to provide written guarantees that no person or entity from the US Special Designated Nationals (SDN) list is a payment beneficiary or involved in a deal.