Chinese banks won’t accept money because of Russian names on payments

Russian names, even those not subject to sanctions, any connection with Russia, as well as inscriptions in Cyrillic from time to time are grounds for cancellation of payment, confirmed the commercial director of Impaya Rus company Alexey Razumovsky.

Similar cases have been observed since mid-July. As the source of the publication noted, importers must prepare a complete package of documents for transactions through third parties in order to conceal connections with the Russian Federation.

Atvira’s general director and foreign economic activity expert Ekaterina Kizevich explains that if the transfer is made through a Russian company, Chinese banks refuse payment because they fear sanctions. During the inspection, the financial institution can hold the money for 40 days and then return it to the buyer, she said.

• Problems with the agreements between the Chinese and Russian sides began in late 2023, when the United States expanded the mechanism of secondary sanctions. At first, difficulties arose with transfers to China in dollars; in the spring of 2024, banks in China (PRC) began blocking receipts in yuan.
• According to experts interviewed by RB.RU, as a result, companies have to use the services of intermediaries, take risks and pay higher interest rates to be able to pay Chinese suppliers.
• As foreign trade participants told Kommersant, in addition to credit institutions of the People’s Republic of China, banks in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates fear secondary sanctions. This year, they began to take a more strict view of transferring supplies or completely refuse to work with the Russian Federation.