Operation Economic Outcast Sanctions Major Bank Helping Iran Evade Sanctions

WASHINGTON—Today, under Operation Economic Outcast, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated prominent Russian financial institution, VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company (VTB Bank) for its involvement in Iranian sanctions evasion, including establishing correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks.“Under Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury will continue to target and disrupt those who provide material, technological, or financial support that allows the Iranian regime to sustain its terrorist enterprise,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran’s enablers.”OFAC’s action against VTB Bank is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which targets certain sectors of the Iranian economy, including Iran’s financial sector. VTB is now among the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world.