WASHINGTON – Today, to further strengthen the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s tools to disrupt and degrade Russia’s war machine, President Biden issued a new Executive Order (E.O.) amending E.O. 14024 and E.O. 14068. This E.O. further targets Russian sanctions evasion and solidifies the U.S. commitment to the G7 Leaders’ Statement, making clear to foreign financial institutions that facilitating significant transactions relating to Russia’s military-industrial base may expose them to U.S. sanctions.
The new amendment to E.O. 14024 authorizes the imposition of U.S. sanctions on foreign financial institutions that are either (1) facilitating significant transactions on behalf of persons designated for operating in certain key sectors of the Russian economy that support the country’s military-industrial base; or (2) facilitating significant transactions or providing services involving Russia’s military-industrial base, including those relating to specific manufacturing inputs and technological materials that Russia is seeking to obtain from foreign sources. This also authorizes Treasury to prohibit the importation of products that have been processed or substantially transformed in third countries, such as Russian seafood and diamond products. The expanded import prohibitions will be active once determinations are made naming covered goods.
Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen released the following statement on the new tools to disrupt Russia’s war effort:
“The United States and our global coalition have put in place historic sanctions and export controls that have severely restricted Russia’s ability to equip its military to wage its brutal and unjustified war against Ukraine. Over nearly two years, our sanctions have significantly weakened the Russian economy and undermined the Kremlin’s war effort.
Today we are taking steps to level new and powerful tools against Russia’s war machine. As a result of our restrictions, Russia has increasingly shifted certain trade and financial flows through third countries to evade sanctions and continue its procurement of critical items for their wartime production.
No one should doubt the resolve of the United States and our partners when weighing the real risks associated with support for Russian evasion. We expect financial institutions will undertake every effort to ensure that they are not witting or unwitting facilitators of circumvention and evasion. And we will not hesitate to use the new tools provided by this authority to take decisive, and surgical, action against financial institutions that facilitate the supply of Russia’s war machine.”
In line with the E.O., Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) has issued the following:
- Guidance for Foreign Financial Institutions on OFAC Sanctions Authorities Targeting Support to Russia’s Military-Industrial Base
- Determination Pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) of Executive Order 14024 (“Russia Critical Items Determination”);
- Determination Pursuant to Section 1(a)(i)(B) of Executive Order 14068 (“Prohibitions Related to Imports of Certain Categories of Fish, Seafood, and Preparations Thereof”);
- Determination Pursuant to Section 1(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14068 (“Prohibitions Related to Imports of Gold of Russian Federation Origin (as Amended)”);
- General License 83 (“Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to Imports of Certain Categories of Fish, Seafood, and Preparations Thereof Prohibited by Executive Order 14068”);
- General License 84 (“Authorizing Transactions Related to Closing a Correspondent or Payable-Through Account”)
- Frequently Asked Questions 1146 through 1157
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Official news published at https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2011
