Two Russian officials accused of financial crime against Ukraine

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has been requested to issue arrest warrants for two high-ranking Russian officials — Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina. The request was initiated by the American non-governmental organization LexCollective, reports the Financial Times.

According to the information, the public coalition B4Ukraine and a group of Ukrainian legal advisers actively participated in preparing the submission. They are urging the ICC to investigate how Russian financial networks are involved in financing illegal control over Ukrainian territories.

The request criticizes the leadership of three major Russian financial institutions — Promsvyazbank, the International Settlement Bank (ISB), and the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). Specifically, banking operations in the occupied parts of Kherson region are cited as an example.

It is stated that in the territories seized by Russia, the circulation of the hryvnia was banned, and the local population was forced to accept the ruble at an artificially low exchange rate. This situation has become a key tool for financial gain via the Russian banking system.

The submission also claims that in order to access banking services, locals had to obtain Russian citizenship, thereby showing “loyalty to Russia.” From the standpoint of international law, this is regarded as an attempt to legalize the occupation through financial means.

According to the Financial Times, the Central Bank of Russia has established special “field units” in occupied Ukrainian territories to process payments to Russian military personnel.

The authors of the document are calling on the ICC to officially classify the actions of Nabiullina and Siluanov as “financing aggression” and to take criminal action against them.

Experts believe this submission could mark a new stage in international legal proceedings. For the first time, state financial policy and central bank activity are being directly cited as grounds for criminal accusations regarding illegal actions in Ukraine.

The global public is now closely watching how the ICC will respond to this request and what legal outcome will follow. The accountability of Russia’s financial elite may reach a new level. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!