Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001344/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE)
According to a recent investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Süddeutsche Zeitung, Western banks – particularly those based in Germany and Austria – transferred billions of euro in cash to Russia in the period immediately preceding Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Deutsche Bank alone is reported to have sent over EUR 2 billion in cash to Russia in 2022. These transfers, allegedly driven by the demand of Western companies for Russian roubles, may have contributed to stabilising the Russian economy and currency just as the EU was imposing sweeping sanctions on Moscow.
Given that the EU has maintained a sanctions regime against Russia since 2014, and that it significantly strengthened this following the 2022 invasion, these transfers give rise to serious concerns about their compatibility with both the letter and the spirit of EU sanctions.
I therefore ask:
- 1.Was the Commission informed in advance about these cash transfers to Russia, and does it consider them compatible with the EU sanctions framework?
- 2.Has the Commission investigated whether these transfers may have helped the Russian Government finance military operations or circumvent EU financial sanctions?
- 3.What measures does the Commission intend to take to prevent future sanctions circumvention through legal but highly problematic financial operations?
Submitted: 2.4.2025