After the "SPB Exchange" was included in the blacklist of US sanctions, trading was stopped. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the license, taking three months to complete the site's operations. The term ends on January 31.
The US froze $3 billion worth of securities on the Russian "SPB Exchange"
The United States of America managed to freeze more than 3 billion dollars on the "SPB Exchange" with the help of sanctions.
The trading platform concerning The Moscow Times stated this.
Foreign securities amounting to slightly more than 3 billion dollars were frozen after the introduction of US blocking sanctions on November 2, the statement said.
The day before, the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Elvira Nabiullina, said that Russians reduced their investments in foreign securities from $7 billion in February 2022 to $3 billion in November 2023.
After SPB Exchange was blacklisted, trading on it was suspended. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the license, taking three months to complete the site's operations. The term ends on January 31.
On December 19, SPB Exchange reported problems with unblocking client assets, noting that US counterparties and counterparties with ties to the US refused to be governed by the OFAC license for fear of falling under secondary sanctions, as it does not cover such transactions.
Russian "SPB Exchange" was founded in 1997. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the volume of trading in foreign securities on the stock exchange fell almost three times. The stock exchange started trading in Hong Kong shares.
Sanctions against Russia
In 2023, the US and its allies focused on measures to prevent Russia from evading sanctions. In particular, Washington has recently stepped up measures against companies that help Moscow export oil above the price ceiling of $60.
The US government generally intends to halve Russia's income from oil and gas exports by 2030.
Recently, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to strengthen sanctions against financial institutions that help Russia.
