The United Nations has opened a bank account with a non-sanctioned Russian lender for ruble-denominated transactions, Reuters reports.
Sovcombank, one of 13 “systemically important” credit institutions in Russia, has applied to the US Treasury for a licence to make membership payments to the UN climate finance programme while its operations are blocked by US sanctions.
UN officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2022, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed Sovcombank on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, effectively removing it from the US financial system, freezing its US assets and banning it from trading with Americans.
The bank is now seeking a licence to pay membership fees to the UN Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative, while checking with US on the possibility of special exemptions for some Russian banks’ operations.
Sovcombank said the UN account was opened in the interim and its application for an OFAC licence was still under review.
