US bans transactions with Russian central bank
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The moves will immobilise any Russian central bank assets held in the US or by US nationals.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - US President Joe Biden's administration on Monday (Feb 28) banned US people and companies from doing business with the Bank of Russia, the Russian National Wealth Fund and the Ministry of Finance.
The moves by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control will effectively immobilise any Russian central bank assets held in the United States or by US nationals, according to a Treasury department statement.
The US also announced new penalties on a key Russian sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and its Chief Executive Officer Kirill Aleksandrovich Dmitriev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The announcements marked the latest blow in the West's financial onslaught against Russia following Mr Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"The unprecedented action we are taking today will significantly limit Russia's ability to use assets to finance its destabilising activities, and target the funds Mr Putin and his inner circle depend on to enable his invasion of Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
