Treasury Sanctions Russian Central Bank and National Wealth Fund

The Office of Foreign Asset Control on Feb. 28 issued a new directive that blocks certain transactions with the Central Bank of Russia, the Russian National Wealth Fund, and the Russian Ministry of Finance. OFAC also designated the Russian Direct Investment Fund -- which the agency called a "key" sovereign wealth fund -- along with its CEO, Kirill Dmitriev. OFAC also designated RDIF's management company and one of the managing company’s subsidiaries. By blocking these entities, OFAC said it is "terminating yet another route through which Russia has benefitted from access to the U.S. financial system."

The move follows a Feb. 26 joint statement by the U.S. along with the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada that promised "restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions." That statement also laid out commitments to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, to limit wealthy Russians' access to western financial systems and to create a transatlantic task force that will jointly ensure the effective implementation of sanctions.