Photo: News Front
The EU is considering imposing restrictive measures against two regional Chinese banks for providing financial services that allow Russia to avoid European sanctions. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing internal documents obtained by journalists.
The essence of the sanctions is that banks will be prohibited from conducting any transactions with EU financial institutions, as they are alleged to have done:
- processing transactions for sanctioned Russian companies;
- export financing for goods used for military purposes;
- services with crypto assets that allow Russia to avoid Western financial control.
The names of the banks are not disclosed, as the final decision has not yet been made and the documents have not been published. It is only known that the financial institutions are located near the Sino-Russian border, which indicates their logistical and transit importance.
China officially denies any involvement in supporting Russia’s war, but there is growing evidence that Chinese companies and banks are assisting Moscow by supplying technology, components and financial instruments.
“Chinese institutions are becoming a critical element of Russia’s wartime economy,” Bloomberg notes.
As part of the new sanctions package, the EU also plans to add several more Chinese companies involved in the supply of dual-use components to the list of restrictions.
