Visa and MasterCard have unblocked cards issued by SMP Bank, controlled by Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, targeted by the US sanctions which were introduced after Russia formally absorbed Crimea.

      Its customers were not able to use their cards to pay for goods and services or do cash out operations abroad.

      SMP Bank was one of the four banks that experienced problems with international payment systems. The three others included Bank Rossiya, Sobinbank and Investcapitalbank.

      According to the bank, the payment systems acknowledged the mistake. The lender insisted the sanctions targeted individuals, not the financial organization.

      Being US companies, Visa and Mastercard are forced to ban any transactions by the individuals designated by the US Treasury.

      Pursuant to Executive Order 13661 signed by President Obama on March 16, 2014, the US Treasury will freeze any of assets belonging to 20 Russian individuals and one bank within U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit any transactions with them.

      Among them are 16 officials, including Viktor Ozerov, Vladimir Dzhabarov, Evgeny Bushmin, Nikolai Ryzhkov, Sergey Zheleznyak, Sergey Mironov, Aleksandr Totoonov, Oleg Panteleev, Sergey Naryshkin, Viktor Ivanov, Igor Sergun, Sergei Ivanov, AlexeyGromov, Andrey Fursenko, Vladimir Yakunin, and Vladimir Kozhin. Also on the list are four “members of the inner circle”, including Gennady Timchenko, Arkady Rotenberg, Boris Rotenberg, and Yury Kovalchuk.

      These individuals being designated because each is controlled by, has acted for or on behalf of, or has provided material or other support to, a senior Russian government official.

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