Top US sanctions official warns Austria about Russia – March 6, 2024 4:58 pm

A senior US sanctions official will visit Austrian authorities and Raiffeisen Bank International on March 7 and 8, the US Embassy in Austria said on Wednesday, increasing pressure on Russia's largest Western bank.

Anna Morris, a U.S. Treasury official who handles illicit financial flows, will assess banks in Austria's exposure to Russia and encourage them to “take action,” the embassy said.

Morris is the latest in a line of US officials to travel to Austria, one of the European countries with close ties to Russia.

Morris will outline a new U.S. sanctions authority, the embassy said, a system that would “create greater risks for banks and encourage them to take steps to protect themselves from trade related to Russia's military industrial base or the risk of being cut off from the United States.” financial system.”

This is the latest attempt by the United States to pressure Raiffeisen, which has been making large payments to and from Russia.

The US is the most powerful regulator in the world because it can cut off bank access to the dollar, the cornerstone of international finance.

Following an executive order by U.S. President Joe Biden last December that threatened to fine financial institutions that help Russia evade sanctions, shares of banks such as Raiffeisen rose. (Reporting by John O'Donnell; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)