The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added VTB to its sanctions list on September 14, according to a statement on the agency's website.
Washington cited VTB's participation in circumventing Iran sanctions, including establishing correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks, the statement said. "Treasury will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran's enablers," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
OFAC claims that over the past three years VTB established correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions, and since January 2025 began expanding its presence in Tehran. The bank also took measures "to move billions in frozen Iranian assets and created a settlement system in national currencies through correspondent accounts in Iranian rials and Russian rubles to increase bilateral trade."
VTB is now among the world's most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions, the US Treasury said. The agency warned that foreign financial institutions continuing to deal with VTB after its inclusion in the Iran sanctions list face even "greater risk" and must immediately terminate these relationships. OFAC had previously imposed sanctions on VTB in January 2025 and February 2022.
The sanctions against VTB were introduced as part of Operation Economic Outcast, which was announced by Scott Bessent on August 24. It aims to sever remaining economic ties supporting Iran, the US said. The sanctions against VTB followed recent measures against banks in Turkey and the UAE. VTB has not yet commented on Washington's decision.