The UN opened an account in a Russian bank to conduct transactions in rubles
Kyiv • UNN
The United Nations has opened a bank account with an unnamed Russian bank that is not subject to sanctions, allowing it to conduct transactions in rubles. This happened at a time when Sovcombank applied to the US Treasury for a license to pay membership fees to the UN Environment Climate Initiative.
The United Nations has opened a bank account with a Russian lender that is not under sanctions to allow transactions in rubles. This was reported by the Russian Sovcombank, Reuters writes, UNN reports .
Details
The name of the bank is not specified.
It is noted that Sovcombank has applied to the US Treasury for a license to make payments of membership in the UN Environment Finance Initiative program.
The name of the bank is not disclosed. The UN press service did not comment on this information.
As of now, Sovcombank is seeking to obtain a license from the US regulator to resume payments and repay the membership fee arrears that have accumulated since the beginning of 2022.
Addendum Addendum
In 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed Sovcombank on its list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs), effectively expelling it from the U.S. financial system, banning trade with Americans, and freezing its assets in the United States.
But now the bank is seeking a license to pay membership fees for the United Nations Environment Program's Finance Initiative, checking with Washington for special exemptions for certain transactions by Russian banks.
Sovcombank said that its application for an OFAC license was still pending and that its UN account had been opened.
