Are Russian Banks Sanctioned? [2026 Answer]

Yes, OFAC has designated major Russian state owned banks, adding them to the SDN List and blocking US dealings.

TL;DR

TL;DR: Yes. OFAC has designated major Russian state owned banks, including Sberbank, VTB, Promsvyazbank, and Bank Rossiya, adding them to the SDN List so US persons must block transactions with them.

What the designations mean

Once a bank is on the SDN List, the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, US persons are prohibited from dealing with it. The 50 Percent Rule extends the block to any entity that is 50 percent or more owned by a designated bank, so subsidiaries and affiliates can be blocked too, even if they operate under different names.

Why this matters for payments

A payment that routes through a designated bank, even indirectly, can violate sanctions. OFAC applies strict liability: intent is not required, and civil penalties start at $356,000 per violation. That makes screening the counterparty and its ownership chain important before funds move, not just the final destination account.

How screening helps

agentmail screens names and counterparties against 19,218 SDN names across 16 jurisdictions in one HTTP call under 100 ms. A match returns BLOCK, so an agent or business can stop the payment before it touches a designated institution, and the check runs fresh each time because the data syncs hourly. Even a payment that only touches such an institution as an intermediary can create exposure, so the screen has to look past the final destination. The ownership chain matters as much as the receiving account.