美國銀行開始封鎖俄羅斯客戶

Visa and MasterCard have blocked credit card services to some Russian bank customers as a result of US sanctions.

美國對俄羅斯的制裁已開始生效，部分俄羅斯銀行客戶的Visa卡和MasterCard卡的信用服務已被停止。

Four banks are so far affected, all of which have links to Russians blacklisted by the US.

Visa and MasterCard, both US-based companies, are forbidden from having any dealings with those targeted by the sanctions.

The banks, which said card services stopped without warning, have described the move as unlawful.

'Frozen out'

One of the banks affected, Bank Rossiya, is described by the US as Russia's 15th largest, with assets of $12bn.

The St Petersburg-based bank has been singled out by Washington as the personal bank for senior Russian officials. US officials said it would be "frozen out" from the dollar.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Bank Rossiya had nothing to do with events in Crimea and promised to transfer his wages there.

"I personally don't have an account there, but I certainly will open one on Monday," he told a meeting of Russia's Security Council.

President Putin also instructed the Russian central bank to step in, if needed, but the latter said the sanctions on Bank Rossiya did "not have a serious bearing on the lender's financial stability".