Major Russian banks on target of next EU sanctions

The European Union is poised to force banks to report information on Russian Central Bank assets as part of the bloc’s latest sanctions package targeting Moscow for its war in Ukraine, according to draft proposals seen by Bloomberg.

Getting a handle on the scale of the central bank and other sanctioned state-backed assets that have been immobilized in the EU is seen as a first step to exploring options for potentially using those funds to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, also proposed strengthening the reporting obligations on frozen assets linked to sanctioned Russian companies and individuals, and suggested fines — of as much as €50,000 for individuals and 10% of annual turnover for entities — to be imposed for failure to provide the required information, the documents say.

The EU is aiming to adopt its 10th package of sanctions next week ahead of the one-year mark of the Russian invasion. European leaders have also sought to boost support for Kyiv — through weapons pledges and meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy — before renewed offensives in the coming weeks.

The latest suite of measures would also introduce extensive trade restrictions on goods used by Russia’s military, including technologies, components, heavy vehicles, electronics, and rare earth elements. The EU is also proposing a ban on goods from transiting through Russia to lower the risk of sanctions being breached and to introduce import restrictions into the EU of Russian rubber and asphalt.

The EU is also looking to sanction dozens of individuals and entities, including politicians and military personnel, as well as:

    - Alfa Bank, Rosbank and Tinkoff Bank JSC, as well as the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation;
    - Media groups that have engaged in propaganda in support of aggression against Ukraine;
    - A Russian reinsurer of ships exporting Russian oil;
    - A UK-registered shipping company was accused of using its vessels to transport stolen Ukrainian grain on behalf of Russia.