The US has imposed sanctions on Russian state bank VTB for helping Iran circumvent sanctions.
This was reported by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department (OFAC).
According to the US Treasury, VTB has established correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks over the past three years. In January 2025, the bank began expanding its presence in Tehran and also moved billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
VTB also created a settlement system in national currencies — Iranian rials and Russian rubles — to develop trade between countries.
The sanctions block all VTB assets in the United States or under the control of American citizens or companies. Americans are prohibited from conducting transactions with the bank without special permission from OFAC. Foreign financial institutions that continue to conduct significant transactions for the benefit of VTB may be subject to secondary US sanctions.
The US Treasury Department added that the last time sanctions were imposed against VTB was in January 2025, and before that, on February 24, 2022.
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