The European Union imposed sanctions against Alfa-Bank, Rosbank and Tinkoff Bank

Tinkoff, Alfa-Bank and Rosbank were included in the tenth package of EU sanctions, published on February 25. In addition to banks, the National Wealth Fund, the Russian National Reinsurance Company, the Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Intelligence Service have been added to the sanctions list.

The EU has published the tenth package of sanctions in the Official Journal. About 120 individuals and legal entities have been added to the sanctions list. Sanctions come into force on the day of publication, the magazine notes.

Three banks fell under the sanctions – these are Alfa-Bank, Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank. The EU explains the sanctions against these banks by the fact that the sector in which they operate provides “substantial income” to the Russian state, as well as their role in the economy: all three banks are included in the list of systemically important banks. Assets of sanctioned banks in the EU are subject to freezing, Europeans are prohibited from providing them with financing and other economic resources, the EU Council said earlier. Tinkoff Bank, Alfa Bank and Rosbank said the sanctions would not affect customer service. “We convey words of support to our international investors, of which Tinkoff owns more than 60%,” Tinkoff wrote on its Telegram channel.

In addition to banks, the National Wealth Fund is included in the sanctions list. The justification for the sanctions states that the Russian authorities have announced plans to use NWF funds to cover the budget deficit in 2023-2024, so the EU considers the fund responsible for financial support to the state. The media groups MIA Rossiya Segodnya (RIA Novosti, Sputnik, Prime) and Patriot (RIA FAN), the Russian National Reinsurance Company, Rosatomflot, the manager of the nuclear icebreaker fleet, the All-Russian People’s Front, the Ministry of Defense also fell under the sanctions. Russia and the Foreign Intelligence Service.

Of the individuals, Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova, head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov, head of the Federal Customs Service Vladimir Bulavin, chairman of the Human Rights Council Valery Fadeev, founder of Amedia and deputy general director of the National Media Group Alexander Akopov, deputy general director of the First Channel Kirill Kleimenov, executive director of Rossiya Segodnya Kirill Vyshinsky, surgeon Leonid Roshal, head of the Talent and Success Foundation Elena Shmeleva, some deputies and senators.

The content of the sanctions, without mentioning specific people and organizations, was previously disclosed by the EU Council. He said that the EU countries agreed to expand the ban on the export to Russia of critical technologies and industrial goods (including electronics, auto parts, construction products), as well as dual-use products. In addition, the transit through Russia of dual-use goods and technologies exported from the EU is prohibited.

In addition, it was decided to limit the import of asphalt (bitumen) and synthetic rubber from Russia to the EU.

Restrictions are being introduced for Russians to work in the management bodies of critical infrastructure enterprises and EU organizations.

It is forbidden to provide Russians with gas storage facilities (with the exception of LNG infrastructure).

New reporting requirements are being introduced on the reserves of the Central Bank frozen in the EU and the assets of Russians and Russian organizations that fell under sanctions. As Bloomberg wrote earlier, this could be the first step in exploring options for using the frozen funds to rebuild Ukraine.

The new reporting requirements will also affect air carriers, who will have to give advance notice of their non-scheduled flights between the EU and Russia “directly or through third countries”. Politico previously wrote that this should prevent the transport of prohibited goods or people under sanctions from Russia and to Russia.

New export restrictions affect the supply of goods from the EU to Russia worth €11.4 billion (data for 2021), the European Commission said. Combined with previous €32.5bn packages, the EU “has cumulatively sanctioned nearly half (49%) of its exports to Russia” (based on 2021 data), she said in a statement.