OFAC targets Russian Bank for banking relationship with Iranian financial instituitions

OFAC imposed blocking sanctions on 1 entity (Russia) under its Iran sanctions program (E.O. 13902) for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy, targeting VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company for establishing correspondent banking relationships with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions and building a rial/ruble settlement system to expand bilateral trade and move frozen Iranian assets. The action, taken under "Operation Economic Outcast," is layered onto VTB's existing Russia-program designations (E.O. 13662, Jan. 15, 2025; E.O. 14024, Feb. 24, 2022), making it one of the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions globally and reinforcing Treasury's warning that continued correspondent dealings with VTB carry elevated secondary sanctions exposure.