Armenian Authorities Cautious to Avoid Western Sanctions Against Russia, Says Kerobyan

The Armenian authorities are being very cautious to avoid falling under Western sanctions against Russia. This was stated by Vagan Kerobyan, the Minister of Economy of Armenia, in an interview with RBC.

In response to a question about whether a Russian individual listed under the sanctions of the European Union or the United States could open an account in an Armenian bank, Kerobyan mentioned that Armenian banks conduct thorough KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures. He stated: “Even more in-depth than we would like. In terms of customer service, they are probably overly bureaucratic in this regard. But we understand them. They do not want to experience secondary sanctions. Thus, the KYC process takes a bit longer than usual. However, the number of accounts you mentioned indicates that banks are still opening accounts. I've hardly heard of cases where they refuse to open accounts. Sometimes it gets delayed; some try to work with several banks at once, but in the end, everything works out... In fact, we are very careful not to find ourselves under sanctions, as this does not align with our interests. We want to operate in a way that avoids this. Our European and American partners have made it clear to us that they would not want to use negative instruments against Armenia.”

When asked whether the Russian VTB's subsidiary bank, VTB Armenia, which is under sanctions, would continue its operations, and what would happen to the Teghut copper-molybdenum mine owned by it, Kerobyan pointed out that “VTB is also under sanctions in Armenia.”

“Both the shareholder and the borrower, as well as the main buyer, are all under sanctions, and work at the mine has currently halted. We are working on several development options, but there is a constant factor in all of them – the company must operate. We are in a situation where we cannot afford luxuries such as closed productions. Therefore, we are ready to assist the shareholders and the company to resume its operations as soon as possible. The bank is under sanctions, it operates, but, of course, not at the volume it previously had. I believe there are several scenarios for development in this regard – merging with another bank, another shareholder, acquisition by new shareholders, etc. In other words, these issues are actively being discussed now to ensure the company continues to operate.”