MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. SPB Bank, which is the settlement depository of the SPB Exchange, plans to appeal to OFAC (the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) to unfreeze assets belonging to foreign clients, according to a statement released on the bank’s website.

"SPB Bank together with lawyers from the Delcredere Bar Association will file an appeal to OFAC today, on May 20, to unfreeze foreign clients’ assets," the statement reads.

Moreover, lawyers from SPB Bank and the bar association have readied templates and instructions for independently applying to OFAC. Templates of the application have been posted on the information portal on unblocking foreign assets. "Application by individuals and legal entities that are owners of foreign securities, is necessary for receiving an individual license for transfer of foreign clients’ assets locked after sanctions were imposed against SPB Exchange on November 2, 2023, from SBP Bank to other unsanctioned settlement institutions," the bank said.

The US Treasury Department blacklisted the settlement depository of the SPB Exchange, SPB Bank, in February 2024. In November 2023, the US put SPB Exchange, which specializes in trading in foreign securities, on the sanctions list. As a result, the exchange’s counteragents suspended cooperation with the exchange for fear of reprisal for violating the US sanctions regime.