US, EU partners discuss countering Russian sanctions evasion

US Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson has discussed with the European partners and allies the continuation of close coordination to counter Russian sanctions evasion and limit its ability to get materials for its war against Ukraine.

The discussions took place as part of his trip to Europe from April 16-22, Caliber.Az reports, citing the US Treasury's official website.

Nelson was said to visit Zurich and Bern, Switzerland; Milan, Italy; Vienna, Austria; and Berlin, Germany and met with government officials, financial institutions, civil society, and business associations.
During his engagements, Nelson shared some of the most critical inputs that Russia is seeking to backfill, including specific types of optics, electronics, and manufacturing equipment.

He also shared emerging sanctions evasion typologies and other red flags indicating evasive measures by Russia to procure things otherwise restricted by sanctions and export controls. These typologies include unusual or atypical payment terms and methods, such as large cash payments or routing through third countries not otherwise involved in the transaction; multiple tenders or shipments of identical products from different consignors for the same end user; or frequent or last-minute changes to end-users or payees, such as redirection of goods to third countries that have limited restrictions on re-exports to Russia.
In Switzerland, Nelson met with officials from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the State Secretariat for International Finance to discuss Russia sanctions enforcement efforts, trends and typologies, and information sharing. He also attended roundtables with the Swiss Bankers Association and with civil society and academics to hear their perspectives on countering sanctions evasion and illicit finance vulnerabilities. Finally, while in Zurich, Under Secretary Nelson met with Liechtenstein Prime Minister Daniel Risch to discuss Liechtenstein’s progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

In Italy, Under Secretary Nelson engaged with banks to inquire about the state of their exposure to Russia, strategic plans to effectively manage sanctions and other risks, and business and illicit finance trends and typologies.

In Vienna, Under Secretary Nelson met with government officials including Finance Minister Magnus Brunner, Oesterreicheische National bank Governor Robert Holzmann and representatives from the Financial Market Authority, and law enforcement to discuss Russian illicit finance risks and ways to cooperate to improve effective implementation, supervision, and enforcement. He also attended a roundtable with the American Chamber of Commerce Vienna and met with businesses to discuss exposure to Russia and to gain insights from their operations.

Finally, in Germany, Under Secretary Nelson met with agencies including the Ministry of Economy and Climate Action, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Foreign Office and the German Chancellery to discuss topics including the European Union’s eleventh sanctions package and German sanctions enforcement efforts. He also led a roundtable with the Federation of German Industries (BDI) to hear industry perspectives on re-export and transhipment issues.

Next week, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg will travel with a multilateral, interagency delegation to Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for technical engagements on strengthening sanctions enforcement and AML/CFT compliance.

The United States remains committed to working with partners and allies around the world to prevent the evasion of sanctions and export controls that would allow Russia to replenish destroyed battlefield supplies and continue its brutal war.