Russia Has $2 Billion Trapped in US Banking Limbo At JPMorgan — What Happens Next?

The U.S. Justice Department has discovered $2 billion of Russian funds held at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). This follows a series of substantial transfers from Russia to Turkey.

What Happened: After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country made several large payments to Turkey, with more expected to follow. These funds, totaling over $5 billion, were purportedly for the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, a project supported by Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

However, investigators discovered that Russia and Turkey utilized the nuclear project as a means to bypass U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia’s central bank in 2022.

Moscow technocrats channeled billions of dollars through U.S. banks to Turkey, where the money could then be used to support Russian state initiatives, reports The Wall Street Journal.

While neither JPMorgan nor Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) are the focus of the investigation, $2 billion of the Russian funds are currently stuck at JPMorgan.

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This is due to the U.S. government’s decision to halt some of the bank transfers. In 2024, U.S. prosecutors were ready to confiscate the money, citing it as the proceeds of sanctions evasion, money laundering, and bank fraud.

However, the seizure was halted in the final stages of the Biden administration due to concerns about straining relations with Turkey, a key but occasionally problematic ally.

The U.S. government continues to scrutinize its sanction regimes and take action against those who try to evade them.

Why It Matters: This investigation underscores the complexity and challenges of international financial transactions, particularly in the context of geopolitical tensions and sanctions.

The case also highlights the role of major financial institutions, such as JPMorgan, in these transactions and the potential implications for their operations.

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