Bank / Credit Union

US sanctions VTB Bank for allegedly helping Iran evade sanctions

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September 15, 2026

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has put sanctions in place against Russian VTB Bank for allegedly helping Iranian banks avoid economic sanctions. This is part of Operation Economic Outcast, according t a press release.

First announced on Aug. 24, the operation aims to cut off economic avenues within Iran, due to the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran. The press release alleged VTB Bank has opened branches in Iran, and has helped move frozen Iranian assets and put in place a settlement system for currency.

"Under Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury will continue to target and disrupt those who provide material, technological, or financial support that allows the Iranian regime to sustain its terrorist enterprise," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in the release. "Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran's enablers."

VTB Bank has been sanctioned multiple times in the past few years, including in February 2022 at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine and in January 2025 for allegedly attempting to evade sanctions, according to a report by CNN.