Several European companies have said they will comply with President Vladimir Putin’s March 31 decree to introduce a two-tier payment system. The system involves paying in euros or dollars into a Gazprombank account and then converting cash into rubles into a second account in Russia. “If companies pay in euros, they are not violating sanctions,” an EU official said on Thursday. “What we can not accept is that companies are required to open a second account in rubles and that the payment is completed only when the payment is converted into rubles.” The official said such a system “clearly violates sanctions”. Since the first days of the invasion of Ukraine, the EU has banned trade with Russia’s central bank in a bid to disrupt Putin’s ability to finance his war. By clearing gas payments only when they are converted into rubles, Moscow is seeking to circumvent sanctions on European companies, the official said. Under EU law, Member States are responsible for imposing sanctions. The official said the European Commission is consulting with national authorities and gas providers to ensure compliance. This story is unfolding. . .
