Page 8 - RusRPTFeb22

While the individuals listed in the sanctions also include the Prime Minister and several senior military figures, this time round no oligarchs are named.
“The list of banks that can end up on the SDN List is longer than expected. Includes Russia’s largest private banks such as Sberbank, Alfa Bank and Bank Otkritie; the already targeted by sectoral sanctions VTB, Gazprombank. Sanctions will be applied to at least three or more banks,” says Maria Shagina, a visiting fellow at the Geneva International Sanctions Network.
The bill lists the following banks that would be singled out for sanctions:
· Sberbank
· VTB
· Gazprombank
· VEB.RF
· The Russian Direct Investment Fund
· Credit Bank of Moscow
· Alfa Bank
· Rosselkhozbank
· FC Bank Otkritie
· Promsvyazbank
· Sovcombank
· Transkapitalbank
The inclusion of financial messaging services in the sanctions bill is designed to not only complement the ban on SWIFT but also hit other services in places like China that might come to Russia’s aid, says Shagina.
The ban on Russian debt would target the Russian Ministry of Finance ruble-denominated OFZ treasury bills, the workhorse of Russian finance which are widely held by international investors. However, the bill only refers to newly issued debt and would not affect bonds already held by investors.
The other big group is proposed sanctions on Russia’s extractive industries, long the country’s cash cow. These sanctions are general in nature and leading companies are not mentioned by name. The sectors included are:
· Oil and gas extraction and production.
· Coal extraction, mining, and production.
· Minerals extraction and processing.
· Any other sector or industry the president determines
8 RUSSIA Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com