US goes after Russian gas money, part 1

The latest sanctions on Gazprombank and other Russian banks may cause disruption, but willing buyers of Russian energy will find ways to continue payments

The Biden administration has further ratcheted up sanctions against Russia’s financial sector in its final weeks in office, restricting dealings with state-owned Gazprombank and more than 50 other internationally connected Russian banks, along with securities registrars and finance officials. While the move has raised the prospect of a faster end to Russian gas flow to Europe—given Gazprombank’s critical role in handling payments for these supplies—the consensus among analysts is that Russian gas transit through Ukraine will cease anyway at the end of the year. This leaves only flows through the TurkStream pipeline, and those still willing to take Russian gas will likely find workaround opti