US Pressure on Dubai: Banks Close Accounts for Russian Companies
Dubai, which became a key channel of communication with international business and oligarchs from Russia after extensive sanctions were imposed by the West due to events in Ukraine, is now feeling pressure from the United States, affecting its financial sphere.
Banks in Dubai have started to refuse cooperation with Russian clients. Among those affected are major oil product trading networks such as “Rosneft”, “Uralkaliy”, and billionaire Ivan Tavrin, who actively acquired assets of foreign companies leaving Russia.
The main state bank of Dubai, Emirates NBD, attracted Russian clients by servicing trade in Russian oil and opening branches for wealthy Russians seeking refuge for their capital. However, in recent months, the US has begun to exert strong pressure on the UAE: representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the State Department have visited the country, local companies trading in Russian oil have been punished for bypassing sanctions. In December 2023, the US Treasury received expanded powers to punish foreign banks assisting in circumventing sanctions and cooperating with the Russian military-industrial complex.
As a result, Emirates NBD closed its Russian branches and many accounts of Russian clients, ceased to accept ruble payments, according to sources in the financial sector in the UAE. Among the affected are also companies of Etibar Jamaladdin oglu Ayyub from Azerbaijan, engaged in trading and transportation of Russian oil.
Ayyub, who previously worked at Coral Energy in the UAE and left in 2018, formed a network of companies in Hong Kong and Dubai after the conflict in Ukraine began. These companies are mainly registered on old tankers transporting Russian oil. Coral Energy, according to employees, continued to cooperate with Ayyub until 2022. Ayyub’s companies include Voliton and Bellatrix, which have been sanctioned by the US. Emirates NBD closed accounts for all these firms.
In addition to Emirates NBD, the Dubai branch of the Egyptian state bank Banque Misr has also begun to scale back its work with Russian companies, closing accounts for Coral Energy and others.
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