Turkish banks began to massively refuse Russian companies to make transit payments to the European Union and other countries. According to Russian media, several importers and intermediaries have confirmed this information, which creates serious problems for Russian business.
According to sources, the problem is not new. It already arose at the beginning of 2024, when Turkish and other banks from countries "friendly" to Russia began to be wary of secondary US sanctions. However, then the situation gradually stabilized and transactions resumed.
In the summer of 2024, problems with payments through Turkey worsened again. European banks began to refuse to accept payments sent through Turkish banks to Russian suppliers. Russian importers cite examples when their European partners, in particular from Bulgaria, demanded to transfer money through "normal" countries, pointing to the growing pressure on banks from regulators.
The situation worsened in September, when Turkish banks, even on the condition of providing all the necessary documents regarding the supply, began to massively refuse to process transit payments for Russian companies. Problems arise not only with payments in dollars and euros, but also with transactions in yuan.
The reason for this is the increased fears of Turkish banks due to the possibility of receiving secondary sanctions from the US and other countries. Even banks that used to easily carry out transactions are now forced to raise the requirements for Russian payments or refuse to process them altogether.
One example is the Turkish state bank Emlak Katılım , which, although it formally does not carry out transit payments, introduced additional commissions for such operations against the background of the refusal of other banks. This makes it difficult to work even with "friendly" banks that have supported cooperation with Russia until now.
The payment problems became even more acute after the December 2023 executive order of US President Joe Biden. It authorized secondary sanctions against third-country banks for helping sanctioned individuals, which increased pressure on banks in Turkey, China and the UAE.
