Japanese Media: "US Considering Ban on Bank Transactions with Russia's Gazprom"

The U.S. government is reportedly considering additional financial sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 15th.

According to Nikkei, the Biden administration plans to ban transactions between Russia's Gazprombank and domestic banks, and has communicated this to G7 member countries.

Gazprombank is a subsidiary of Gazprom, the Russian state-owned natural gas company. It handles payment settlements for natural gas transactions between Russia and various European countries.

Nikkei reported, "The Biden administration has made it clear that it will strengthen sanctions against Russia before Donald Trump takes office in January next year, signaling a stance of not allowing the invasion of Ukraine," and added that it will seek cooperation from other G7 member countries.

Russian LNG carrier. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Since 2022, the G7 has imposed strict sanctions such as banning transactions with major Russian banks. It has also taken measures to halt imports of Russian crude oil, but natural gas has not been included in the embargo.

Especially due to Europe's high dependence on Russian natural gas, the U.S. has so far limited sanctions on Gazprombank to asset freezes on its executives rather than direct transaction bans.

Nikkei analyzed that if the U.S. implements this sanction, it could also affect Japanese companies that procure liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.