Russian SMP Bank Denies Reports of $65Mln in Frozen Assets in US

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The total number of assets belonging to Russia’s SMP Bank that have been frozen in accounts in the United States is “significantly less” than the figure of $65 million, recently quoted by US media, the bank’s press service said Friday.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing documents obtained from the US Treasury Department, that three Russian banks – SMP Bank, Bank Rossiya and Sobinbank — have seen about $640 million of assets frozen in the United States as a part of the country's sanctions policy against Russia.

The article said that SMP bank had at least $65 million, or 2 percent of its 2013 assets, blocked in various US financial institutions.

“The assets were frozen almost a year ago – last April, when the Bank was subjected to sanctions….. In addition, the sum of frozen assets is significantly less than that presented by the American authorities,” SMP press service said in a statement published on the bank’s official website.

SMP Bank has been operating in the Russian market since 2001. In late April 2014, SMP Bank and its subsidiary InvestCapitalBank were included in a US sanctions blacklist.