Yelo Bank falls under European Union sanctions
On April 23, the Council of the European Union officially adopted the 20th package of restrictive measures against Russia.
In addition to other measures, the package includes a transactional ban on four financial institutions in third countries — in Kyrgyzstan, Laos, and Azerbaijan. The only Azerbaijani bank on this list is OJSC 'Yelo Bank'.
The basis for including financial institutions from third countries in the list, according to the EU Council, is the circumvention of the EU sanctions regime or connection to the Russian Financial Messaging System (SPFS) — a banking messaging platform deployed by the Central Bank of Russia as an alternative to SWIFT.
The adoption of the package was initially planned to coincide with February 24 — the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, the decision was blocked by Hungary and Slovakia amid a dispute over oil transit through the 'Druzhba' pipeline. On April 23, after the resumption of oil supplies to both countries, the EU Council adopted the package.
In addition to financial measures, the package includes a transactional ban on 20 Russian banks, the blacklisting of 46 additional vessels of Russia's 'shadow fleet', sanctions on Bashneft, Slavneft, and seven Russian oil refineries, restrictions on servicing Russian icebreakers and LNG tankers, and — for the first time — the application of the EU's anti-circumvention tool concerning the export of computer numerical control machines and radio equipment to Kyrgyzstan.
The final text of the legal acts will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in the near future.
