The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this Monday the imposition of new sanctions against VTB bank, the second largest financial entity in Russia, which it accuses of collaborating with Iran to evade the restrictions imposed by Washington against the Asian country and "supporting terrorism."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), under the Treasury, has added VTB to its list of sanctioned organizations. It is a banking group predominantly controlled by the Russian state, which was already subject to economic punishments by the United States due to the Russian military offensive in Ukraine that began in February 2022.
According to the State Department, the Trump Administration has adopted this new round of measures against VTB for "helping Iran evade sanctions and maintain its support for terrorism."
In this context, Marco Rubio's office has accused the Russian entity of opening offices in Iranian territory, establishing "banking links with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions," and facilitating the movement of "billions" of dollars corresponding to Iranian assets.
"The measure taken today sends a clear message to governments and financial institutions considering similar agreements: any attempt to help Iran evade sanctions will have serious consequences, including exposure to U.S. financial restrictions," stated in an official note the spokesperson for the State Department, Tommy Pigott.