Russian firms' efforts to make payments for goods in China as secondary sanctions fears spook local banks have generated a flourishing market for middlemen, four sources told Reuters, with up to half of transactions now handled by intermediaries. The U.S. Treasury has warned it could apply sanctions on those facilitating transactions with Russia, calling on foreign banks to boost compliance.
Some Turkish banks are reportedly closing accounts associated with Russian businesses for fear of triggering secondary sanctions from the United States.
Russian companies have been increasingly leaving Cyprus as Western sanctions impact their ability to operate, the Russian state-controlled media outlet Kommersant wrote on Jan. 16.
The line between politics and economics is becoming blurred as sometimes, sanctions imposed for political reasons are actually a weapon of competition, claimed a long time observer of sanctions.