US temporarily allows Gazprombank nuclear energy transactions

The US Treasury Department has temporarily authorized transactions involving Gazprombank, which has fallen under US sanctions , in the field of civil nuclear energy, according to a license from the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control, a division of the Treasury Department responsible for law enforcement in the area of ​​sanctions) published on the department’s website. it is valid until June 30, 2025.

It follows from the license that the temporary exemption from the sanctions regime applies to projects launched before GPB was included in the SDN list on November 21, 2024. This could include, for example, transactions related to uranium mining/enrichment and the production of fuel for nuclear power plants.

The license is not valid for new projects - the construction of the Paks-2 station in Hungary is cited as an example, the department notes.

Russia supplies the United States with about 20% of the enriched uranium used to fuel American nuclear power plants, making it the No. 1 foreign supplier, Bloomberg wrote in the spring. The agency noted that these sales bring Moscow about $1 billion annually.

In January of this year, the HEAD of the US Nuclear Energy Administration, Katherine Huff, said that the US intends to work with its allies to achieve the ability to produce low-enriched uranium, which is used to fuel nuclear power plants, in order to free itself from dependence on Russian supplies.

After the start of the operation in Ukraine and the introduction of sanctions, Gazprombank, through which, among other things, ruble payments for gas with unfriendly countries are made, remained one of the few large banks in Russia that are not on the SDN list. However, in November, the US Treasury Department tightened sanctions against more than 50 Russian banks, including Gazprombank. They will fully come into force in two days, on December 20.

Following new US sanctions, GPB stated that the restrictions would not affect its work in Russia. The Kremlin promised that, despite the sanctions against the bank, Russia would find options for paying for gas supplied to Europe, although this would take time. Against this backdrop, President Vladimir Putin updated the procedure for paying for gas by foreigners. GPB remained the only authorized bank for settlements for supplies in rubles, but no longer provides assistance in converting currency into rubles.