WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration issued a fresh round of Russia-related sanctions on Wednesday, taking aim at what it called an illicit finance network that allowed Russian elites to leverage digital assets to avoid sanctions.

In a statement the U.S. Department of Treasury said it was targeting five individuals and four entities tied to “a sprawling international network of businesses and employees that have facilitated significant sanctions circumvention” known as the TGR Group.

The targets also include an entity based in Wyoming that is owned in part by a sanctioned individual, the department said.

“Through the TGR Group, Russian elites sought to exploit digital assets — in particular U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins — to evade U.S. and international sanctions, further enriching themselves and the Kremlin,” Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.

The international network actions include “the laundering of funds associated with sanctioned entities; providing an unregistered service to exchange cash and cryptocurrency; the receipt of cash and making the value available to clients in the form of cryptocurrency; providing a pre-paid credit card service; and, obfuscating the source of funds to allow high-net worth Russian nationals to purchase property in the United Kingdom,” according to the department’s statement.

Such sanctions generally prohibit any U.S. persons or entities from conducting any transactions with sanctioned targets and freeze any U.S.-held assets belonging to the sanctioned individuals or entities.

Among those targeted in Wednesday’s action are George Rossi, a Russian-born Ukrainian national born in Russia that the Treasury Department said is believed to control the TGR Group, and Rossi’s direct subordinate, Russian national Elena Chirkinyan, among others.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

In December 2024, the Financial Supervision Authority (FSA) presented Bigbank AS with the outcome of the annual Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) capital adequacy calculation. As a result of the evaluation, the FSA decided to leave the Pillar 2 capital requirements for Bigbank AS unchanged.

According to the decision of FSA, a requirement for own funds (P2R) in the amount of 3.2% from the total risk exposure amount (TREA) applies to Bigbank AS on consolidated basis, of which at least 2.4% must be covered with Core Tier 1 own funds and at least 1.8% with Tier 1 capital. This means that the Pillar 2 capital requirement remains the same as in the previous year.

The FSA has decided to keep the Pillar 2 guidance (P2G), applicable to Bigbank AS on consolidated basis, on the same level compared to last year, which is 1.5% from the TREA.

The renewed P2R and P2G ratios are applicable from 01.01.2025.

Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu), with over 30 years of operating history, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of 31 October 2024, the bank’s total assets amounted to 2.7 billion euros, with equity of 267.6 million euros. Operating in nine countries, the bank serves more than 150,000 active customers and employs over 500 people. The credit rating agency Moody’s has assigned Bigbank a long-term deposit rating of Ba1, as well as a baseline credit assessment (BCA) and adjusted BCA of Ba2.

For additional information:
Argo Kiltsmann
Member of the Management Board
Phone: +372 5393 0833
E-mail: argo.kiltsmann@bigbank.ee
Website: www.bigbank.ee

US stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as investors digested fresh jobs data and waited for new Fedspeak to cement or dent growing hopes for future interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) hugged the flat line in late morning trade, coming off fresh records for the two gauges. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) reversed earlier gains to fall roughly 0.4%.

Job openings rose by 372,000 to 7.74 million in October compared to estimates of 7.52 million, according to BLS data released on Tuesday.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed fewer hires were made during the month while the quits rate, a sign of confidence among workers, rose to 2.1% from 1.9% in September.

The JOLTS data serves as the first in a wave of key signals this week that culminates in Friday’s all-important monthly US payrolls report.

Traders are now pricing in about a 69% chance that the Fed lowers rates by a quarter percentage point at its Dec. 18 meeting, compared with 62% a day ago, per the CME FedWatch tool.

Those odds could shift after Fed policymakers Austan Goolsbee and Adriana Kugler appear later on Tuesday, which will set the stage for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s panel discussion on Wednesday.

On the corporate front, Tesla (TSLA) stock slipped in early trading after shipments of the EV maker’s China-built models fell again, putting sales targets in doubt. In addition, CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay deal was rejected again by a judge.

Meanwhile, shares in US Steel (X) fell about 8% on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to “block” its $15 billion takeover by Japan’s Nippon Steel (5401.T, NPSCY). Trump said tax incentives and tariffs will enable the American steel giant to thrive on its own.