US Shares Russian Sanctions Evasion Red Flags With EU Allies
The U.S. sent a Treasury Department official to Europe last week to discuss Russian sanctions evasion tactics with Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany, including ways those countries’ governments, business groups and banks can identify red flags. Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, shared the “most critical inputs” that Russia is looking to backfill -- including optics, electronics, and manufacturing equipment -- and shared the “emerging sanctions evasion typologies” Russia is using to evade sanctions and export controls, Treasury said.
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Those typologies include “unusual or atypical payment terms and methods, such as large cash payments or routing through third countries,” and multiple shipments of identical products from different consignors for the same customer. They also include “frequent or last-minute changes” to end-users or payees, including redirecting goods to third countries that have “limited restrictions on re-exports to Russia.”
Nelson met with Swiss government officials and the Swiss Bankers Association to “hear their perspectives on countering sanctions evasion and illicit finance vulnerabilities,” Treasury said, and also spoke with Italian banks about “the state of their exposure to Russia.” In Austria, Nelson spoke with government officials and law enforcement about ways to “cooperate to improve effective implementation, supervision, and enforcement,” and led a roundtable in Germany with the Federation of German Industries to “hear industry perspectives on re-export and transshipment issues.”
Treasury said Elizabeth Rosenberg, assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, will travel with a “multilateral, interagency delegation” to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for “technical engagements on strengthening sanctions enforcement and” compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. The U.S. “remains committed to working with partners and allies around the world to prevent the evasion of sanctions and export controls that would allow Russia to replenish destroyed battlefield supplies and continue its brutal war,” the agency said.