France and the Netherlands are pushing for EU sanctions against any bank in the world that helps the Russian military pay for weapons, goods, or technology. The proposal is being discussed as part of the 14th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which will be presented in June.
It is proposed that EU members would be prohibited from doing business with any financial institution that directly or indirectly helps Moscow obtain prohibited goods or dual-purpose technologies. Such a ban could become a powerful incentive for financial institutions in the Middle East, Turkey, and even China to prohibit the supply of dual-purpose goods to Russia if they want to access European business and financial markets.
EU officials said the EC would likely coordinate any similar sanctions on financial institutions with the US, making the tool even more powerful. As well, the US has warned Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International that the bank’s access to the US financial system may be limited due to its business in Russia.