site.btaNational Bank of Serbia Warned of Possible Secondary US Sanctions

National Bank of Serbia Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic Wednesday said that the country’s central bank had been warned of possible enforcement of secondary US sanctions on the national oil company NIS, RTS reported. NIS has been subject to US sanctions since October 9.

The sanctions were originally imposed on January 10 due to "secondary risk" stemming from the company’s majority Russian ownership. Their implementation was postponed eight times before finally taking effect on October 9. The goal of the US is said to be to curb funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine by targeting Russian energy companies. Russian company Gazprom Neft, which is under sanctions, owns 44.9% of NIS. Gazprom-affiliated Intelligence holds an 11.2% stake, and the Serbian government owns 29.9%, while the rest is held by small shareholders.

Tabakovic said that the National Bank of Serbia is taking the warning about potential secondary sanctions seriously.

"We received a warning as an entity cooperating with a business entity that is already under sanctions. This is a serious warning for us," she said, adding that she hopes that sanctions will not be imposed, as this would result in all payments being blocked.

Earlier in the day, Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic, said that Russian owners have agreed to sell their 56.15% stake in NIS.