In February 2022, following weeks of political tensions between NATO countries and Russia, president Vladimir Putin officially recognized the independence of the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in Ukraine and deployed forces to the region. Shortly after, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion against the entirety of Ukraine.

In response, the US, UK and EU, as well as several other countries, have imposed various economic sanctions, aimed at weakening the Russian economy and limiting Russia’s access to the international financial system. These measures, also called embargoes, consist mainly of asset freezes on a large number of Russian banks, companies, Russian politicians and oligarchs, trade and investment restrictions on Russia and specific regions in Ukraine, and financial restrictions on a number of Russian banks, including the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

KBC Group has a responsibility to conduct its business in a lawful and ethical way, and complies with UN and EU sanctions, as well as measures imposed by countries it deems relevant, such as the US and the UK. Taking into account the increasing number of sanctions that have recently been adopted, their scope, as well as the interests of KBC Group clients, KBC Group will (until further notice) adopt the following approach regarding Russia and Ukraine:

∙ The processing of all payments to or from Russia, as well as all transactions in RUB, will be suspended until further notice.

∙ Payments (both open account and trade finance) to or from Ukraine involving a KBC Group customer remain possible. Pass-through transactions to or from Ukraine will be phased out for now.

∙ KBC Group will not process payments involving the separatist regions in Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea).

∙ Any transaction involving a sanctioned party is prohibited.