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US Treasury Prohibits Transactions With Russia's Central Bank, Wealth Fund & Finance Ministry, 28 Feb
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has prohibited United States citizens from engaging in transactions with Russia's Central Bank, its National Wealth Fund, and the Ministry of Finance. This action effectively immobilizes any assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation held in the United States or by U.S. persons, wherever located. [...] The United States has not taken this action alone. On February 26, 2022, partners and allies committed to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Central Bank of the Russian Federation from deploying its international reserves in ways that would undermine the impact of United States sanctions and the European Union followed up with their restrictions last night. Our actions demonstrate global support for Ukraine and the commitment to hold Russia's threatening, authoritarian rulers responsible for their HEINOUS actions. [...] Today's actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14024 [19 Apr 2021], which authorizes sanctions against Russia for its harmful foreign activities, including violating well-established principles of international law, such as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states. [...] The Russia-related Sovereign Transactions Directive will disrupt Russia's attempts to prop up its rapidly depreciating currency by restricting global supplies of the ruble and access to reserves that Russia may try to exchange to support the ruble. Contemporaneously with the issuance of this directive, OFAC is issuing a general license to authorize certain energy-related transactions with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and will follow with other authorizations and guidance as needed.Yellen added that in coordination with partners and allies, the US was "following through on key commitments to restrict Russia's access to these its own valuable resources."
This action effectively immobilizes any assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation held in the United States or by U.S. persons, wherever located. [...] The United States has not taken this action alone. On February 26, 2022, partners and allies committed to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Central Bank of the Russian Federation from deploying its international reserves in ways that would undermine the impact of United States sanctions and the European Union followed up with their restrictions last night. Our actions demonstrate global support for Ukraine and the commitment to hold Russia's threatening, authoritarian rulers responsible for their HEINOUS actions. [...] Today's actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14024 [19 Apr 2021], which authorizes sanctions against Russia for its harmful foreign activities, including violating well-established principles of international law, such as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states. [...] The Russia-related Sovereign Transactions Directive will disrupt Russia's attempts to prop up its rapidly depreciating currency by restricting global supplies of the ruble and access to reserves that Russia may try to exchange to support the ruble. Contemporaneously with the issuance of this directive, OFAC is issuing a general license to authorize certain energy-related transactions with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and will follow with other authorizations and guidance as needed.
Contemporaneously with the issuance of this directive, OFAC is issuing a general license to authorize certain energy-related transactions with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and will follow with other authorizations and guidance as needed.
Russia's economy in crisis as sanctions bite, beginning with RUB DEPRECIATION
Russia's currency, the ruble, fell by around 30% to record lows after the latest sanctions, although it did recover slightly in recent hours.
The currency collapse has led to long lines outside ATMs across Russia, with fears rising over further plunges in the value of the ruble. The below tweet shows a video of a line outside ATMs in Moscow at 5 a.m. On Monday, the central bank announced that the Moscow Stock Exchange would not open.
However, if Russia struggles to buy rubles [?!] with its foreign reserves, pressure on the currency will intensify and long lines at ATMs could evolve into more panicked runs on banks. The exact details of how the central bank will be blocked are yet to be revealed.
Around 15% of its foreign reserves are held in China, and the Chinese government may be willing to help. Russia also holds one of the largest stockpiles of gold in the world, around 2,300 tons -- worth around $142 billion at current prices. However, Sergei Guriev [!], an economist [!] with Sciences Po university in Paris, told the Financial Times [!] that such options were fraught with uncertainty as well. "Whoever says it will be easy to sell gold or yuans [sic] must be kidding. Chinese state banks are already blocking financing of Russian oil sales [?]. China is afraid [?] and rightly so of secondary sanctions.
"Whoever says it will be easy to sell gold or yuans [sic] must be kidding. Chinese state banks are already blocking financing of Russian oil sales [?]. China is afraid [?] and rightly so of secondary sanctions.
However, until it is clear which banks will be hit, it is difficult to make a meaningful assessment of the impact. Russia has built its own alternative to SWIFT, known as SPFS. It already accounts for around 20% of domestic Russian transactions [sic; see SPFS/FMS], but it has struggled to attract overseas banks.
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