US lifts sanctions on ex-Russian banker and financial consultant: OFAC updates SDN list

The US Treasury Department, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), officially removed two individuals from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on June 11, 2026, namely Sergey Maltsev and Olga Raikes.

Sergey Maltsev previously held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian Sberbank, where he oversaw the sales network. He was added to the US sanctions list on May 8, 2022, along with other representatives of the leadership of the Russian banking sector. After the introduction of sanctions, Maltsev left his position.

OFAC also removed Olga Raikes from the list, co-founder of CONFIDERI, who has Russian and Israeli citizenship. She was subject to sanctions restrictions due to her activities in the financial sector of the Russian economy.

The department noted that both names were officially removed from the SDN register, and related changes were made to other related sanctions records.

Experts note that OFAC has recently been increasingly implementing a policy of so-called “sanctions modernization” — reviewing existing restrictions and excluding individuals and companies for which it no longer sees legal or political grounds for maintaining the sanction status.

The decision regarding Maltsev and Raikes came into force immediately after the official update of the sanctions list on June 11.

Against this background, the United States continues to increase sanctions pressure in other areas. In particular, Washington recently introduced new restrictions against a number of individuals and companies that, according to the American authorities, assisted Iran in purchasing weapons and conducting financial transactions. The sanctions mainly targeted structures and citizens from China and Hong Kong.

At the same time, China has already expressed sharp dissatisfaction with the European Union’s plans for a new package of sanctions against Russia, which may also affect Chinese companies and citizens. Beijing said such steps were “unilateral and illegal” and called on Brussels to refrain from further escalating sanctions pressure.

Thus, international sanctions policy continues to demonstrate two parallel trends: a targeted easing of restrictions on individuals and a simultaneous expansion of the global sanctions front.