US sanctions Russia’s SberLeasing

The US Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank and 25 of its subsidiaries, including SberLeasing, to the list of entities sanctioned as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The bank and its subsidiaries were included in the Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account (CAPTA) list, which renders it almost impossible for them to conduct any financial non-cash transactions in US dollars. The sanction exceeds the disconnection of the bank from the international SWIFT system, which would make such transactions difficult in practice but not illegal as such.

The ch-aviation fleets ownership module suggests that the lessor does not have any aircraft placed with civilian operators outside of Russia. It is the second Russian aircraft lessor targeted by the United States after VEB-Leasing.

The OFAC has also updated its Specially Designed Nationals (SDN) list to reflect the rebranding of Belarus’ Transaviaexport Airlines (TXC, Minsk National) as TAE Avia. The cargo specialist has been sanctioned since December 2021 for its ties to the Belarusian regime. As opposed to the CAPTA list, which targets access to the financial market, the SDN list focuses on preventing any US entity or individual from dealing with the sanctioned unit.

The new package of sanctions, imposed in direct response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on February 24, also includes the freezing of assets of VTB Bank and three other Russian banks, debt and equity restrictions on thirteen major state-owned firms, including Alrosa (the parent of Alrosa Aviakompania) and Gazprom (parent of Gazpromavia), sanctions on the Russian military and a number of oligarchs with their families, as well as a “sweeping” export ban designed to cut off access to advanced technology necessary for the Russian economy.