The Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBOB) confirmed that just less than $3 billion worth of assets with Russian beneficiaries are held in primarily locally based offshore banks and trust companies in The Bahamas.

This data comes a week after Attorney General Ryan Pinder issued directives to all regulated financial entities in the country, banning them from carrying out business activities with 121 Russian entities and individuals that have been sanctioned by jurisdictions around the world in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The CBOB said while it has yet to complete its survey of domestic financial institutions, a review of data from international entities domiciled in The Bahamas found that there are US$420 million in deposits and US$2.5 

billion in custody, or trust assets with ultimate beneficial owners from or connected to Russia.

“On 12th March 2022, the Group of Financial Services Regulators of The Bahamas issued a directive to Bahamian financial institutions against doing business with sanctioned persons and entities of Russia and Belarus. Since then, the Central Bank has received several enquiries from the press on the amount of Russian business in the jurisdiction’s banks and trust companies,” the CBOB said in a statement posted to its website on Friday.

“As an extension of its regular surveillance, the Central Bank has gathered data from international banks and trust companies on their level of Russian business activities. The results of this exercise indicated as at 28th February 2022, this sector held approximately US$420 million in deposits and US$2.5 billion in custody or trust assets with ultimate beneficial owners from or connected to Russia.

“The greatest proportion of Russian exposure would be linked to the international sector. However, the Central Bank is currently canvassing domestic financial institutions – that is the commercial banks, money transmission business and electronic money service providers – to ascertain any level of exposure within those sectors.”

The Central Bank noted, however, that the data is not specific to any of the sanctioned individuals or entities, but, rather, an aggregate of Russian holdings in the international banking and trust sector.

Last week’s directive was made under the International Obligations (Economic and Ancillary Measures) Act, based on the United States (US) government’s executive order prohibiting transaction involving financial resources of the Russian Federation and entities and individuals linked; and encompasses the Group of Financial Services Regulators (GFSR) including CBOB, the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), Insurance Commission of The Bahamas (ICB), Compliance Commission of The Bahamas and the Gaming Board.

The Bahamas has taken a stance with its closest allies in the US and European Union who have urged that countries take decisive and broad-stroke actions in condemnation of the war in Ukraine.

The Bahamas has also voted along with 140 other United Nation (UN) member states demanding that Russia withdraw its military forces from Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a special military operation.

More than three million Ukrainians have fled their country.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Saturday that it has recorded 2,246 civilian casualties — 847 killed and 1,399 injured — in Ukraine since the start of the conflict.

“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes,” it said.

Several Ukrainian lawmakers called on The Bahamas to impose harsher sanctions against Russia.

Mykhailo Positko, mayor of Kamianets-Podilskyi, a western Ukrainian city located near the border of Moldova, praised The Bahamas for its actions thus far.

“We urge the government of your country to sever all economic, social and political ties with the aggressor country, with a country that is destroying our peaceful cities and killing some of our children,” he told The Nassau Guardian.

“I urge you to suspend all banking operations with Russian citizens and Russian banking institutions, [and] ban citizens with Russian passports from entering The Bahamas.”

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian