Russian companies in the UAE are massively restricting financial transactions – intelligence

In July 2025, banks in the United Arab Emirates tightened control over the activities of Russian companies. About a third of Russian companies had their operations restricted or their accounts closed.

This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service.

“The main reasons for their closure were the lack or untimely response to banks’ requests, errors in documents, inconsistency of financial flows with the declared activities, connections with countries from the FATF “blacklist” (the Financial Action Task Force – ed.) or with persons/structures subject to international sanctions, etc.,” the intelligence service reported.

Checks of Russian accounts in UAE banks began in February 2024, after the UK imposed sanctions against companies from the United Arab Emirates that helped circumvent sanctions against Russia.

After the adoption of the 18th package of sanctions, inspections and restrictions on Russian banks in the UAE increased.

Emirati financial institutions do not want to be put on the FATF “gray list” again because of the Russian Federation, so they are showing their willingness to comply with the sanctions regime.

As a reminder, the Russian nuclear industry is rapidly deteriorating. The flagship of the Russian economy, Rosatom, which operates 11 nuclear power plants and generates 20% of electricity in the Russian Federation, has appealed to the state.

As reported, up to 20% of car dealerships in Russia may close by the end of the year.

In addition, Russia’s largest automaker AvtoVAZ has suspended production from July 29 to August 11 inclusive . The official reason is “corporate vacation,” but in reality the decision is related to a critical situation on the market: the company’s warehouses are overflowing with unsold cars.