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Russian banks say UK sanctions will not affect their operations

On March 24, the UK authorities added a number of Russian banks, companies and defense sector enterprises to the black list

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Russian banks, which have come under yet another sanctions from the UK, continue to operate as usual, the restrictions imposed will not affect their normal activities, the banks announced on Thursday.

On March 24, the UK authorities added a number of Russian banks, companies and defense sector enterprises to the black list. Among those that came under sanctions are: Gazprombank, Russian agricultural bank, Alfa-Bank, SMP Bank, Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The new UK sanctions also target Sberbank CEO Herman Gref, the first deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank Alexander Vedyakhin and the former deputy chairman of the board Lev Khasis, as well as the founder of Tinkoff Bank Oleg Tinkov.

"Today, the UK Treasury published a statement on the introduction of new sanctions against a number of Russian companies and banks, including Gazprombank. We hasten to inform our clients that these events will not affect the current operations of Gazprombank in Russia," Gazprombank said in a statement.

However, the bank suspends all payment transactions to British counterparties - individuals and legal entities. This was done to ensure the safety of customer funds, the bank said.

Alfa-Bank also announced the suspension of settlements with counterparties from the UK. Otherwise, restrictions from London do not affect the normal operation of the bank, the bank’s press service emphasized.

"The sanctions imposed by the UK will not affect the activities of the Russian Agricultural Bank. The bank has no assets in the UK, all our main activities are in Russia," the press service of the Russian Agricultural Bank told TASS.

The press service of Tinkoff Bank reported that the sanctions imposed on the founder of the bank, Oleg Tinkov, in no way affect the Group and the bank in particular.

"TCS Group Holding PLC informs that Oleg Tinkov has been included in the UK Sanctions list. These sanctions affect Mr. Tinkov in his personal capacity. For a significant period of time, Mr. Tinkov has not been a majority or controlling shareholder of TCS Group or any of its operating companies, does not exert influence on the business, and holds no decision-making position anywhere within the Group," according to the press-release.