The International Criminal Court located in The Hague has requested an arrest warrant for high-ranking Russian financial officials — Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Central Bank Chair Elvira Nabiullina. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
This initiative was promoted by the American non-governmental organization LexCollective, according to the Financial Times. The preparation of the appeal involved active participation from the B4Ukraine public coalition and a group of advisors made up of Ukrainian legal experts.
They are calling on the International Criminal Court to investigate the financing of illegal control over Ukrainian territories through Russian financial networks. The appeal criticizes the leaders of three major Russian financial institutions — Promsvyazbank, the International Bank of Settlements, and the Central Bank of Russia.
In particular, banking operations in the occupied territories of the Kherson region were cited as an example. The circulation of the hryvnia was banned in the areas occupied by Russia, and the local population was forced to accept the ruble at a mandatory and artificially low exchange rate.
This situation has become a primary means of obtaining financial benefits through the Russian banking system. The appeal also states that local residents are being coerced into obtaining Russian citizenship to access banking services and thereby demonstrate "loyalty to Russia."
This is being assessed as an attempt to finance and legitimize the occupation from the perspective of international law. According to the Financial Times, the Central Bank of Russia has established special "field divisions" in the occupied areas of Ukraine, through which payments have been made to Russian military personnel.
The authors of the document are requesting the International Criminal Court to classify Nabiullina and Siluanov's actions as "financing the occupation" and to initiate criminal proceedings against them. Experts believe this appeal could mark a new phase in the international legal system.
For the first time, illegal activities in the territories of Ukraine have led to open accusations based on state finance and central bank policy. Now, the public's attention is focused on how the International Criminal Court will respond to this appeal and whether it will make a legal decision.
The accountability of the Russian financial elite may rise to a new level.
