- Category
- Latest news
Vietnamese Banks Restrict Transactions With Russian Companies Under Western Sanctions Pressure
- Authors
![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
Vietnamese banks have introduced stricter conditions for Russian companies when processing payments, following concerns over secondary sanctions from the West, as reported by The Moscow Times on August 13.
The new requirements, which began in mid-2025, mandate that payments can only be processed if goods are being delivered to Vietnam or if there is a Vietnamese citizen among the founders of the contracting company.
These measures are a response to potential secondary sanctions from Western countries, as explained by legal and consultancy professionals working in the region. Clients have already experienced delays or blockages of transfers due to failure to meet these conditions, The Moscow Times claims.
According to Yuriy Brisov, a partner at Digital&Analogue Partners, Vietnamese banks now require a complete set of documents for processing payments, including contracts, invoices, and transport or customs documents that confirm the transaction is linked to Vietnam.
If no shipment to Vietnam is planned, banks are looking for local anchors, such as a local founder, office, or long-term contract with a Vietnamese partner, to ensure the transaction does not circumvent sanctions.
For Russian companies involved in importing or processing goods in Vietnam, the new rules have not caused major changes. However, the complexity of transit schemes has increased, prompting some businesses to seek alternatives in other Asian jurisdictions.
The tightening of payment conditions began in 2024, influenced by a US presidential decree from December 2023, which imposed sanctions on transactions linked to the Russian defense sector, and guidance from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in June 2024.
While there is no formal ban on payments unrelated to Vietnam, Vietnamese banks have taken these US measures as a signal to exercise increased caution, The Moscow Times stated.
Previously, it was reported that Russia has shipped its first-ever naphtha cargo to Vietnam, as the country seeks new buyers to support oil sales impacted by Western sanctions.
The Malta-flagged tanker “Northernlight” loaded around 60,000 metric tons of naphtha in the Russian Baltic port of Vysotsk. The cargo was then delivered to Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa terminal, Reuters reported.
