This will not end with “peace” – Newspaper Kommersant No. 171 (7372) of 09/16/2022

The US Treasury has added the head of the National Payment Card System (NSPK) Vladimir Komlev to the SDN list. NSPK itself and the Mir payment system, which it operates as an operator, have not yet been blacklisted. Nevertheless, the US authorities have officially warned financial institutions in third countries against expanding cooperation with the payment system. Experts believe that this can significantly slow down the expansion of the geography of accepting Mir cards, as well as damage cooperation with countries where they are already accepted.

Among the 40 Russian citizens who fell on September 15 under the blocking sanctions of the US OFAC was the head of the NSPK Vladimir Komlev. However, among the 30 legal entities that have replenished the SDN list, so far there is neither NSPK itself nor the Mir payment system. The US Treasury even specifically clarified that the NSPK is not blocked. But at the same time, he just as officially emphasized that it was risky to cooperate with her:

“Those non-US financial institutions that enter into new or expanded agreements with the NSPK risk supporting Russia’s efforts to circumvent US sanctions by expanding the use of the national payment system Mir outside the territory of the Russian Federation.”

According to the NSPK, now cards of the Mir payment system work in Turkey, Vietnam, South Korea, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Representatives of the diplomatic and tourist circles of a number of other countries – Cuba, Iran, Nigeria, Thailand, Egypt, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Malaysia – in recent months have spoken about their readiness or intentions to start accepting Russian cards (see “Kommersant” dated July 28).

The situation around the payment system began to escalate even before Washington’s statements. The other day, there were reports in the media that a number of Turkish hotels stopped accepting Mir cards. The NSPK clarified that the payment system notes individual cases of refusals to conduct transactions on cards of Russian banks under sanctions and is monitoring the situation. ATOR assured that “nothing bad happens” with the cards of banks that did not fall under the sanctions.

However, the Financial Times reported that the US and the EU are increasing pressure on the Turkish banking sector, as they fear that it could be used by the Russian authorities to circumvent sanctions.

Sources of the publication claim that Brussels plans to directly convey its position to the Turkish authorities: “We will send a very clear signal that, for example, financial institutions of third countries should not connect to the Mir payment network, because this involves some risks of avoiding sanctions.”

The NSPK did not promptly respond to Kommersant’s request. According to experts, after the US speech, it will become much more difficult to expand the circle of countries accepting Mir cards. The head of the Association of Participants in the Market of Electronic Money and Money Transfers, Viktor Dostov, notes that the new document of the US Treasury means “serious problems for the NSPK in all its cross-border projects.” At the same time, according to him, the very acceptance of Mir cards by banks that did not fall under the sanctions does not formally violate the sanctions regime, but “it is not clear how much the partners are willing to risk.” The head of the board of the Financial Innovations Association, Roman Prokhorov, believes that the main purpose of the statements is to increase the risks of working with the Mir payment system for new foreign counterparties, although they still have “room for maneuver in the space of profitability and risk.”

Lawyers are less optimistic. Ekaterina Orlova, head of legal practice at CM Grace Consulting, notes that the interpretation of the American regulator is incredibly broad:

“The clarifications are not selective, but relate to cooperation with the payment system in principle.”

Ekaterina Makeeva, Head of Sanctions Practice at AB A-PRO, believes that the key deterrent to practical steps on the part of the United States regarding the Mir system remains the lack of the ability to influence its payment architecture: “The weak link is the possible presence of products with American technologies, such as chips.” .

At the same time, experts call the instrument of secondary sanctions effective. “Possible consequences have already been voiced by the Americans, in particular, against Turkey,” Ms. Makeeva explains. “It was about banning American businesses from doing business there, and how realistic such steps are, most likely, depends on the importance of certain relations for the US economy.” .

Maxim Buylov