US Bans Transactions With Russian Central Bank

The US on Monday banned people and companies from doing business with the Bank of Russia, the Russian National Wealth Fund and the Ministry of Finance. The Treasury Department said the actions effectively immobilize any Russian central bank assets held in the US or by US nationals.

Russia Erects Financial Defenses to Shield Against Sanctions

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the measures will "target the funds Putin and his inner circle depend on to enable his invasion of Ukraine."

In a phone call with reporters Monday morning, a senior administration official said the move was "the culmination of months of planning and preparation across our respective governments across technical, diplomatic and political channels, including at the highest levels.", reports CNN.

"We were ready and that's what allowed us to act within days, not weeks or months of Putin escalation," the official said. 

"Our strategy, to put it simply, is to make sure that the Russian economy goes backward as long as President Putin decides to go forward with his invasion of Ukraine," a second senior administration official said.
In a bid to mitigate the impact of the sanctions on US and European energy consumers, the Treasury Department will exempt most energy-related transactions from the sanctions, a significant carve-out in the sanctions.

One official called the ongoing sanctions a "vicious feedback loop that's triggered by Putin his own choices and accelerated by his own aggression." 

The sanctions also fully block the Russian Direct Investment Fund and its CEO, Kirill Dmitriev. Officials said they were, "symbols of deep seated Russian corruption and influence peddling globally." 

"Today's actions represent the most significant actions in the US Treasury is taken against an economy of this size and assets of this size," another official said. "What also makes this asset significant is not just the amount of assets or the size of the country we're targeting, but the speed at which our partners and allies have worked with us to enact this response."

Asked about potential additional sanctions on Belarus, which appears poised to elevate its role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an official said the US is watching events "very carefully" and that sanctions on Belarus would "continue to ratchet much higher."