Ukraine calls on U.S., European bankers to sever ties with companies that trade Russian oil

Ukraine calls on heads of U.S. and European banks to sever ties with companies that trade Russian oil and stop providing credits to finance Russian war crimes.

“Economic advisor to the President of Ukraine, Oleg Ustenko wrote to bankers including JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and HSBC's Noel Quinn, asking them to stop financing companies that trade Russian oil and sell shares in state-backed oil and gas groups Gazprom and Rosneft,” reads the report posted on the website of the Ukrainian President’s Office.

Referring to an article from the Financial Times (the UK), the President’s Office said that in the letters, which were sent this week and also went to Citigroup and Crédit Agricole, banks were accused of "prolonging" the war by providing credit to companies that ship Russian oil and told they would be blocked from participating in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine.

In addition, Ustenko told the FT that Ukraine intends to sue the banks at the International Criminal Court (ICC) once the war ends, and that Ukraine's security services were collecting information on the financial institutions supporting Russian fossil fuels.

In particular, HSBC's and Crédit Agricole's asset management arms hold shares in Gazprom and Rosneft, Russia's state oil and gas firms. Citigroup provides credit facilities to Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil and to Vitol, which trades in Russian oil, according to the letters.

JPMorgan extends credit lines to Vitol, while its Russian Securities investment trust holds stakes in Gazprom, Sberbank and Rosneft, described in the letter as some of the Kremlin's most important economic assets.

As reported, the European Union has so far adopted six packages of sanctions against Russia over its armed aggression against Ukraine.