Biden prohibits the US Treasury from providing dollars from IMF funds to Russia and Belarus

MADRID, 5 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has signed a law on Tuesday that prohibits the secretary of the Treasury from providing dollars from the funds of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Russia and Belarus, as a result of their participation in the invasion of Ukraine.

The White House reported this Tuesday that the US president has enacted HR 6899, the Russia and Belarus SDR (currency used by the International Monetary Fund, IMF) Exchange Prohibition Law of 2022, which "prohibits the secretary of the Treasury participate in transactions that involve the exchange of Special Drawing Rights, SDRs.

The initiative would also force consultation with other countries so that they "similarly refuse to convert" Russian and Belarusian SDRs.

The duration of the initiative will expire five years after its adoption or 30 days after the US president confirms to Congress that the Russian and Belarusian governments "have ceased destabilizing activities in relation to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

In August 2021, the IMF approved $650 billion in SDRs to member countries in a program to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. In this plan, Russia received 12.3 million SDRs. In addition, IMF funds represent around three to four percent of Russia's international reserves, according to the TASS agency.