Ak Bars has suspended outgoing transfers in foreign currency for legal entities

Ak Bars Bank, which the day before came under US sanctions , is suspending outgoing transfers in foreign currency, the bank's press service told RBC.

The restriction comes into effect on September 15. The bank suspends outgoing transfers in foreign currency “in terms of servicing legal entities.”

“Bank branches, ATMs, mobile applications and the website are operating as usual. In terms of servicing individuals, the rules for conducting transactions in foreign currency have not changed,” the press service emphasized.

At the same time, the bank asked clients to refrain from making outgoing transfers in foreign currencies until clarification appears “in order to avoid delays at correspondent banks.”

They were also advised not to delete the bank’s mobile application from their smartphones. Applications of other sanctioned banks were previously removed from the Appstore for iOS and GOOGLE Play for Android.

The bank recommends that iPhone users disable automatic updates, and Android users download the application from RuStore, NashStore, AppGallery or from the bank’s website.

The day before, the US Treasury expanded sanctions against Russian companies. The SDN list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) included several dozen organizations, including Ak Bars. The restrictions imply the blocking of all company assets in the United States, as well as a ban on American persons from any interaction with sanctioned organizations.

Previously, other Russian banks that were subject to US sanctions also suspended currency transfers. In particular, this was done by VTB, Moscow Credit Bank (MCB), Alfa Bank, Otkritie, Rosselkhozbank and others.