MOSCOW (Shahid Ghuman) – The European Union has expanded its sanctions on Russia's financial and banking sector under its 21st package of sanctions, adding dozens of banks, financial institutions and cryptocurrency service providers to its blacklist.
According to a statement issued by the Council of the European Union, the assets of 94 Russian banks and major financial institutions will be frozen, and they will be barred from receiving any funds or economic resources. A prominent figure from Russia's banking sector has also been added to the sanctions list.
The statement said the EU has also prohibited financial transactions with 33 additional Russian credit and financial institutions.
The bloc further announced sanctions against a bank in Kyrgyzstan for its alleged connection to Russia's System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), Moscow's alternative to the SWIFT international payment system. Three other non-Russian banks were also sanctioned for allegedly helping Russia circumvent existing EU restrictions.
According to the statement, four additional entities linked to the cross-border financial network A7 have also been designated, including organisations with newly identified links to Africa.
The EU has also banned transactions with 14 cryptocurrency service providers based in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.
For the first time, the European Union has introduced a legal mechanism allowing it to impose a full transaction ban on crypto-asset service providers located in third countries if deemed necessary.
The EU said the measures are intended to deter countries and financial platforms that allegedly assist Russia in evading European sanctions. Under the new rules, EU entities will be prohibited from conducting business with crypto service providers that are considered to facilitate Russia's efforts to bypass sanctions.