China News Agency, Washington, April 6 (Reporter Chen Mengtong) The White House issued a statement on the 6th saying that in order to further put pressure on Russia on the Ukraine issue, it will increase financial sanctions against Russia.
This includes a comprehensive blockade and sanctions on Russia's largest financial institutions and major state-owned enterprises.
The U.S. side will impose a comprehensive blockade on Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, and Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest private bank, freezing the assets of the two financial institutions in the U.S. and prohibiting U.S. citizens from conducting financial transactions with them, the statement said.
A senior White House official said at a briefing on the 6th that the sanctions previously imposed by the United States on Sberbank belonged to a "dollar settlement ban", that is, the scope of sanctions is limited to dollar transactions.
The "total blockade" means that any currency transactions between Russian financial institutions and American individuals or institutions will be prohibited.
Major Russian state-owned enterprises will also be subject to comprehensive blockade and sanctions by the United States.
The U.S. Treasury Department will release a list of sanctioned entities on the 7th.
The White House said President Biden will also sign a new executive order that would completely ban Americans from making new investments in Russia.
In addition, the White House stated that the United States will impose a comprehensive blockade and sanctions on Russian leaders, family members of the foreign minister and members of the Russian Federation Security Council.
On April 4, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it would prohibit Russia from paying its debts with funds under U.S. jurisdiction.
The White House explained the sanctions on the 6th, saying that it does not rule out the possibility of Russia repaying its sovereign debt, but only if the funds used by Russia are not under the jurisdiction of the United States.
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