As Russia and Ukraine enter ‘Day – 9’ of conflict, amid sanctions from America and NATO , now, the State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it has stopped transactions of Russian entities that were sanctioned by the West.
As per sources, SBI issued a circular that said, the bank fears that transactions with the entities of the country under sanction will invite sanction on it as well.
It is to be noted In 2020-21, the bilateral trade between Russia and India stood at USD 9.4 billion.
India imports fuels, mineral oils, pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical machinery and equipment and fertilisers from Russia.
Therefore, any transaction that involves entities, banks, ports or vessels that appear in the US, European Union or United Nations sanctions will not be processed.
However, any payments pending will have to be processed through a different mechanism rather than banking
For the unversed, the State Bank of India has a joint venture called Commercial Indo Bank Llc in Moscow.
Notably, where Canara Bank is also a partner with 40 per cent stake in it.
This is not the first time this happening, sanctions were imposed on the Persian Gulf nation in the past, then also India had come up with a mechanism for the payment of imports.
