The US dominance of sanctions has begun to bear fruit.

When the United States and Europe tried to tear Russia away from the Western financial system, Moscow found workarounds. Key among them: banks in the Persian Gulf and Europe that maintained ties to Russia. Now Washington’s efforts to close these loopholes have begun to bear fruit, The Wall Street Journal writes.

It is noted that the main state bank of Dubai has closed some accounts of Russian oligarchs and traders of Russian oil. Turkish lenders are increasingly cautious about working with businesses associated with Russia. The US also warned bankers in Vienna, another important financial centre.

“The moves follow visits by US officials and recent rounds of sanctions against trading firms and others. In late December, the White House gave the US Treasury greater sanctions powers, allowing it to punish foreign banks for transactions linked to Russia’s military industrial base,” the article says.

Pressure on the UAE

Dubai-based banking giant Emirates NBD is said to be playing a central role in these changes. Russian businesses and oligarchs have flocked to the UAE since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Emirates NBD has been one of the largest beneficiaries. The bank handled significant Russian oil transactions and created a department that catered to Russians seeking a safe haven for their wealth, one U.S. official said.

“However, in recent months, the United States has been putting strong pressure on the UAE. Washington sent officials from the Ministry of Finance and the State Department to the country, and also imposed new sanctions against companies based in the UAE, such as the Russia-oriented oil trader Voliton. In this regard, Emirates NBD has changed its course “It closed its Russian office, stopped accepting ruble transfers from Russia and closed a large number of Russian accounts,” the WSJ writes.

Emirates NBD has closed the accounts of Russian fertilizer giant Uralkali and Russian businessman Ivan Tavrin, according to Emirati financial specialists.

Changes in Turkey

In Turkey, the climate has also changed as the US government has pushed Ankara to adjust its growing economic relationship with Russia. The US has punished Turkish companies for facilitating Russian abuses and called on the government to help enforce sanctions. Turkish exporters are complaining about problems receiving payments. Turkish exports to Russia fell 33% in February from a year earlier to $670 million, Trade Ministry data shows.

Work in Austria

The US has also targeted Austria, the banking hub of Central and Eastern Europe, recently sending Treasury spokeswoman Anna Morris to meet with the government and banks including Raiffeisen Bank International, which has a subsidiary in Russia.

The Treasury said the visit is part of a wider international communications campaign aimed at making financial firms understand the new sanctions powers, which are partly intended to “create increased risks for banks”. Raiffeisen Bank is trying to sell or spin off its Russian unit, although Moscow has made exiting the business more difficult.

Increased pressure on Russian energy resources

The redoubled efforts of the United States have led to certain disruptions in Russian energy exports, which are the financial basis of the war in Ukraine. U.S. pressure on banks to cap energy payments has caused complications in recent weeks, U.S. officials, Emirati financial experts and others said. However, Russian oil still flows unhindered.

Last month, the Financial Action Task Force, an international anti-money laundering body, removed the UAE from its gray list of non-compliant countries, citing significant progress in correcting shortcomings, journalists said.