Biden’s new executive order targets international banks that help Russia evade sanctions

President of the USA Joe Biden issued a new decree that expands the government’s authority to impose restrictions on those foreign banks that help Russia circumvent sanctions.

“Today’s action underscores the need for financial institutions around the world to ensure that they do not facilitate activities that support Russia’s military actions and put in place measures to protect against exploitation by Russian procurement networks,” the US Secretary of State said. Anthony Blinken.

The decree created a “powerful new tool against the Russian war machine,” says the US Treasury secretary Janet Ellen.

“We will not hesitate to use the new tools provided by this executive order to take decisive and surgical action against the financial institutions that supply the Russian war machine,” Yellen said.

Most American banks comply with sanctions, but the new powers allow the US Treasury Department to introduce measures against banks in countries such as China, Turkey, the UAE and others that may knowingly or unknowingly help Russia circumvent sanctions, the US Deputy Treasury Secretary explained in an interview with NBC the day before Wally Adejemo.

The order not only expands the authority of the US to introduce sanctions against financial institutions located outside of Russia that help conduct activities for the benefit of the military-industrial complex, it also gives the government the authority to ban the importation into the US of goods manufactured on the basis of Russian materials, even if they have passed a high level processing in third countries.

The head of the US Treasury Department is convinced that international sanctions are working and have already forced Russia to “increasingly transfer certain trade and financial flows to third countries in order to circumvent sanctions and continue to purchase critical goods for its war machine.”

In a column for the Financial Times, Adeyemo points out that Russia was forced to turn into a war economy due to international sanctions.

“Manufacturing capacity and labor resources have been refocused on weapons production,” Adejemo writes. “In large part because our export restrictions and sanctions have successfully created barriers that prevent the Kremlin from importing electronics, equipment and necessary materials.”

The Kremlin tasked intelligence to find ways around these restrictions, Adeyemo notes. And Biden’s new decree will make it possible to fight networks in third countries that help Russia circumvent sanctions, the official said.

Adejemo emphasizes that Biden introduced this decree at a critical time. “By increasing the price for banks to support sensitive trade with Russia, by extending sanctions against companies and networks that cover such trade, our coalition is pouring sand into the mechanism of Russian military logistics,” Adejemo writes.

He also called on Congress to approve an additional aid package for Ukraine without delay.