The Biden administration broadens penalties against Russia, prohibiting American dealings with its central bank.

• On Monday, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Russia's central bank, preventing Americans from conducting any transactions with the bank and freezing its assets within the US.
• The new measures will also affect the National Wealth Fund of Russia and the Ministry of Finance of Russia.
• An administration official from the Biden administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the new sanctions will be implemented immediately.

The Biden administration declared new sanctions against Russia's central bank on Monday, which prevents Americans from conducting any transactions with the bank and freezes its assets within the US.

The new measures will also affect the National Wealth Fund of Russia and the Ministry of Finance of Russia.

An anonymous senior Biden administration official stated that the new sanctions will be implemented immediately.

The official stated on a conference call with reporters that they wanted to implement these actions prior to the markets opening because they learned from their allies and partners that the Russian Central Bank was attempting to move assets and there would be significant asset flight starting on Monday morning from institutions worldwide.

To ensure the Russian economy declines, our strategy is to have President Putin continue his invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. has added Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the investment fund he heads, to its sanctions list. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), although officially a sovereign wealth fund, is commonly viewed as a slush fund for Putin.

The official stated that the U.S. anticipates its allies to follow suit in the near future.

The U.S. and its allies have announced that they will implement restrictions to prevent Russia's central bank from using its international reserves to undermine sanctions.

A senior administration official stated on Monday that no country is immune to sanctions and Putin's $630 billion reserve can only be useful in defending his currency.

In recent weeks, the U.S. and its allies have imposed numerous severe sanctions on Russia as a coordinated effort to maintain economic pressure on the Kremlin.

The Russian ruble experienced a significant decline of more than 20% on Monday, falling from 83 to 111 against the U.S. dollar. This drop represents one of the largest single-day declines in the value of Moscow's currency ever recorded, and was caused by penalties imposed by the U.S. departments of the Treasury and Commerce.

The Bank of Russia increased the country's benchmark interest rate to 20% from 9.5% in an effort to stabilize the ruble and encourage savings in Russian banks, as the West and its allies have imposed sanctions on Moscow's major lenders.

The Moscow Exchange was shut down by the Russian central bank due to significant market fluctuations.

On Saturday, the US, European allies, and Canada reached a consensus to exclude several Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, which will significantly isolate the country from the global financial system.

Banks in Moscow won't be able to securely communicate with banks outside their country due to their exclusion from SWIFT. This happened to Iran in 2014 following advancements in their nuclear program.

The European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. are planning to restrict the sale of "golden passports," which allow wealthy Russians linked to the Kremlin to obtain citizenship in other countries and access financial systems. A Biden administration official described these passports as a loophole that enables Russian oligarchs to evade sanctions and maintain their wealth and influence.

On Friday, the U.S., U.K., and European Union imposed sanctions on Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In the weeks before the invasion, Biden warned Putin of sanctions to prevent any further aggression against Ukraine.