U.S. imposes sanctions against companies from Russia, China involved in sanctions evasion schemes
MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - The United States has added Russian and Chinese companies to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List that have participated in sanctions evasion schemes to render payments for goods, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is responsible for sanctions enforcement, said in a press release on Wednesday.
Russia and China are working to create regional clearing platforms (RCPs) in both countries to act as counterparties for cross-border payments and to facilitate non-cash settlements to pay for sanctioned goods, the U.S. Treasury Department confirms.
The department said that the sanctions evasion schemes involve major banks already on the SDN List, namely Sberbank , Alfa-Bank, Sovcombank , T-Bank , and Tochka Bank; as well as other Russian companies that were not previously subject to sanctions, namely Herbarium Office Management LLC (Herbarium), JSC Atlant Torg, Sigma Partners LLC, JSC Transactions and Settlements, Arcturus JSC, and Paylink Limited.
Herbarium was registered in February 2005. Evrofinance Mosnarbank owns 99.99% of Herbarium through its MNK-Invest LLC subsidiary, data in the Unified State Registry of Legal Entities (USRLE) indicate. Evrofinance Mosnarbank was added to the SDN List in the spring of 2019. Sanctions were also imposed against Herbarium CEO Andrei Prikhodko on Wednesday.
Other Russian companies added to the U.S. sanctions list were registered rather recently, namely Arcturus was established in August 2022, and Sigma Partners in July 2023. The remaining companies on the list were registered later, namely Atlant Torg in January last year, Transactions and Settlements in May 2024, and Paylink Limited in October 2024.
The China-based RCPs involved in the scheme include Anhui Hongsheng International Trade Co Ltd, Qingyuan Fo Feng Leda Supply Chain Service Co Ltd, Heilongjiang Shunsheng Economic And Trade Development Co Ltd, Qingdao Hezhi Business Service Co Ltd, Xinjiang Financial Import And Export Co Ltd, Hangzhou Xianghe Trading Co Ltd, Shaanxi Hongrun Jinhua Trading Co Ltd, Fujian Xinfuwang International Trade Co Ltd, and Jilin Province Shunda Trading Company Ltd.
