Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint news conference with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on July 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Alexey Furman | Getty Images
Major US and European banks should be prosecuted for “committing war crimes” over financing trade with the Russian regime, according to a top aide to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky’s economic adviser Oleg Ustenko said that the Ukrainian government regards banks as J. P. Morgan, hsbc And CityUkraine is aiding the Kremlin’s war effort through financed companies that trade oil with Russia.
“Everyone who is funding these war criminals, who are doing these terrible things in Ukraine, is also committing war crimes in our argument,” he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on “Capital Connection” Tuesday.
JPMorgan, HSBC and Citi did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on those allegations.
Asked directly if he would like to see these banks prosecuted for war crimes, Ustenko said: “Absolutely.”
Ustenko said Zelensky believes these banks should be held accountable for prolonging the conflict and the war on Ukraine.
His comment a. came in response to FT report last weekwhich states that the government of Ukraine wrote to the heads of US and European banks – eg Jamie Dimon from JP Morgan noel quinn HSBC – urged them to cut ties with groups trading Russian oil.
We are expecting Ukraine’s economy to show a decline of about 35-40%, which is a huge drop.
Oleg Ustenko
Economic Advisor to the President of Ukraine
In letters seen by the FT, Ustenko wrote to bankers asking them to cut financing for businesses that trade Russian oil and sell shares to Gazprom and Rosneft, two of Russia’s state-backed oil and gas companies.
According to the FT, the letters accused Citigroup and Credit Agricole of “prolonging” the war by providing finance to companies sending Russian oil. The letter also reportedly warned that banks would not be allowed to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine once the war ended.
CNBC did not immediately respond to Credit Agricole when asked about those allegations.
Ukraine’s government is gathering all evidence to send it to the International Criminal Court, Ustenko told CNBC.
“We are collecting all this information” in reference to the companies that are funding Russia, he said. “Our Ministry of Justice and our Security Service of Ukraine is collecting it. And then later, it will be passed on to the ICC,” he said.
This is not the first time Ukraine has gone after Western companies to negotiate trade deals with Russia.
In March, the government was highly critical big oil companies Still to do business with Russia, and warned that some of those firms could find themselves on the wrong side of history.
Ustenko said the war has had a significant impact on Ukraine’s economy since the start of Russia’s invasion on February 24.
“Currently, we are expecting that the Ukrainian economy is going to show a decline at the level of around 35-40%, which is a big drop,” he said.
He said the decline came because about 50% of businesses “are not yet operational or are not able to operate at full capacity.”
“When the economy is collapsing, budget revenue is reduced. Then the reason is the Russian aggression,” he said.