Rosselkhozbank and JP Morgan close correspondent accounts on grain deal – Kommersant

The representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said that the Russian Rosselkhozbank (RSHB) and the American JP Morgan had terminated correspondent relations in the framework of the grain deal. A direct channel between credit institutions was conceived as an alternative to the SWIFT system.

Maria Zakharova, answering to a question from journalists about the prospects for resuming the grain deal, from which Russia came out July 17, indicated that “so far there is no need to talk about any positive developments.” She clarified that the correspondent relationship between the RSHB and JP Morgan was severed on August 2.

The reconnection of the RSHB to SWIFT is one of the key conditions for Russia to resume the grain deal. The bank was cut off from SWIFT as part of the sixth EU sanctions package introduced in June 2022.

Reuters in April informedthat the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) allowed JP Morgan to process payments from the Agricultural Bank. At the same time, permission was issued for a “very limited and strictly controlled” transaction for the export of agricultural products.

On the consequences of stopping the grain deal – in the material “Kommersant” “The ways of grain are inscrutable”.

Lusine Balasyan