Borrowing costs have surged for Russian companies amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, one of many consequences of the Kremlin’s move to incorporate Crimea.

      The latest victim is Sibur, a major petrochemical firm, which was denied a $1 billion syndicated loan by RBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML). According to the business daily Vedomosti, the foreign banks wanted a premium for geopolitical risks.

      Earlier, Russia-IC reported that VTB chairman Andrey Kostin complained about the Bank of England’s politicized pressure on VTB Capital Plc, an investment banking unit. The Bank of England has made additional demands on VTB’s London unit relating to capital levels and liquidity controls, the bank’s Chief Financial Officer Herbert Moos told the press.

      The US and the EU introduced sanctions after Russia absorbed Crimea, a former Ukrainian region with an ethnic Russian majority.

      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.