Russian businesses struggle with payment processing through Turkish banks amidst Western sanctions
The Russian news outlet Vedomosti reports that Russian importers and intermediaries are facing challenges with payments via Turkey, whose banks Russian businesses use for transiting transactions to other countries, including Europe. According to the report, European banks have intermittently been refusing payments for goods from Turkish banks sent to Russian business suppliers. Specifically, one businessman ran into this issue in Bulgaria. Additionally, a Vedomosti source claims that Turkish banks themselves have become reluctant to process these transit payments in recent weeks.
One intermediary mentioned that Russian companies primarily engage with the state-owned Emlak Katilim bank, but this is an option mainly for large companies as the bank demands an extra fee. Claims suggest that companies first pay the official transaction fee, followed by an unofficial payment for "consulting services." These funds are reportedly collected by a local law firm attorney with a representative in Russia.
The reported issues have been confirmed by Alexey Poroshin, CEO of JSC "First Group," Igor Kuznets, partner at law firm FTL Advisers, and Andrey Gusev, managing partner of Nordic Star law bureau. Kuznets informed Vedomosti that the main difficulties arise with payments in dollars and euros and that now transactions in yuan have also become problematic, though those in rubles and lira are "currently less troublesome."
In December 2023, the U.S. authorities announced secondary sanctions in the banking sector. Following this, Turkish banks started closing accounts for Russian entities and tightened criteria for opening ruble accounts. As of May 2024, Denizbank, one of Turkey’s largest banks and a former subsidiary of Russia’s SBER, nearly ceased opening new accounts for applicants with Russian passports. In August, Ziraat Bank stopped opening accounts in rubles.