The U.S. Treasury Department has issued new investment restrictions that prohibit U.S. investors from buying Russian stocks and bonds in secondary markets, in the latest sanctions by the Biden Administration on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.
New guidance explains that U.S. investors are prohibited from buying both new and existing debt and equity securities issued by any entity in the Russian Federation.
“Consistent with our goal to deny Russia the financial resources it needs to continue its brutal war against Ukraine, Treasury has made clear that U.S. persons are prohibited from making new investments in the success of Russia, including through purchases on the secondary market,” a Treasury spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Despite increasing sanctions, since the war started last February, U.S. investors were still allowed to trade assets in circulation on secondary markets. Now, investors will be allowed to sell Russian stocks and bonds, although only to a non-US person. The guidance explains that Americans are not “required” to divest Russian securities and may continue to hold them.
Quoting a Morgan Stanley report, Reuters said the Russian government and corporate debt on the international markets added up to just over $472 billion at the start of the year.
The latest Treasury move surprised some analysts as further sanctions are still being discussed both by the Biden Administration and European Commission countries.
