WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2023) The United States has not seen Russia use a concerning level of other financial "rails" to evade US sanctions since the start of its special military operation in Ukraine, Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said during a panel discussion hosted by the Aspen Institute.
"At the beginning of the conflict, there was a lot of concern that Russia would try to use these other financial rails to evade our sanctions and I don't think we've seen that sort of scale yet," Nelson said on Wednesday.
However, Nelson pointed out that they have mostly noticed an interest in developing new payment, and financial relationships between Russia and other countries, especially those in the caucuses, the UAE, and Turkey, among others.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations.
In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.
