Sending money to Russia from the USA is legal for most personal, non-commercial purposes, but the transaction cannot touch anyone or any bank on U.S. sanctions lists. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Treasury enforces the restrictions, and a willful violation carries a criminal fine up to $1 million and up to 20 years in federal prison. The rules are not a full ban, but the space between a lawful remittance and a sanctioned transaction is narrower than most senders assume.
Transfers That Are Prohibited
Several categories of transactions are off-limits without specific OFAC authorization:
- Any transaction involving a person or entity on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. The list includes thousands of Russian individuals, companies, and organizations, and their property within U.S. jurisdiction is blocked.1U.S. Department of the Treasury. Sanctions List Search – Treasury Sanctions List Search
- Transfers to accounts at Russia’s largest banks. Sberbank and VTB Bank are among the institutions on the SDN List, and money sent to accounts there will be blocked or rejected.2U.S. Department of the Treasury. Sanctions List Search – Details for VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company
- Any transaction involving Russia’s Central Bank, National Wealth Fund, or Ministry of Finance.3U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Prohibits Transactions with Central Bank of Russia and Imposes Sanctions on Key Sources of Russias Wealth
- Transfers tied to Russia’s defense, energy, or technology sectors, which can be prohibited under sector-specific sanctions even if the direct recipient isn’t individually listed.
The underlying authority is Executive Order 14024, signed in April 2021, which lets OFAC block property and restrict transactions involving people and entities linked to harmful activities by the Russian government.4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 587 – Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations Additional executive orders in 2022 expanded that reach after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Transfers That Are Still Allowed
OFAC has stated that personal, non-commercial remittances are not the target of U.S. sanctions on Russia. Sending money to family members for living expenses remains permissible so long as no sanctioned person, bank, or entity is involved anywhere in the transaction.
OFAC also issues general licenses that authorize categories of transactions that would otherwise be blocked. Two are especially relevant to individuals:
- General License 18 authorizes U.S. dollar-denominated banknote noncommercial personal remittances that would otherwise be prohibited under the March 2022 executive order.5Office of Foreign Assets Control. Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions
- General License 6D authorizes transactions related to agricultural products, medicine, medical devices, and COVID-19 treatment or research, with certain exceptions.6Federal Register. Publication of Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations Web General Licenses 6D 8J
You don’t apply for a general license. If your transfer fits the license terms, you’re authorized automatically. But the conditions are specific. General License 6D, for example, does not authorize opening correspondent accounts for banks subject to Directive 2, and it doesn’t cover transactions prohibited by certain other executive orders. Read the license text before assuming your transaction qualifies.7Office of Foreign Assets Control. Selected General Licenses Issued by OFAC
Why Legal Transfers Still Get Blocked
International wires typically pass through one or more U.S. correspondent banks on the way to the destination. Under Directive 2 of Executive Order 14024, U.S. financial institutions must reject any transaction involving a foreign bank subject to the directive’s prohibitions, even if no blocking sanctions apply to that bank.8U.S. Department of the Treasury – Office of Foreign Assets Control. FAQ 967 – Prohibitions Related to Correspondent or Payable-Through Accounts So a wire from your U.S. bank to a non-sanctioned Russian bank can still bounce because an intermediary bank flags it. The money usually comes back, but weeks can pass, and fees may not be refunded.
How to Check Before You Send
The single most important step is screening the recipient and their bank against OFAC’s sanctions lists. OFAC provides a free Sanctions List Search tool that checks names against the SDN List and every other list the agency maintains.9U.S. Department of the Treasury. Sanctions List Search – OFAC Sanctions List Search The tool uses approximate string matching, so it catches close variations of names. OFAC itself warns that using the tool is not a substitute for full due diligence.
Beyond the name check, work through these questions before initiating the transfer:
- Is the recipient’s bank sanctioned? If the bank appears on the SDN List or is subject to the CAPTA Directive, the transfer will not go through.
- What is the purpose of the transfer? Personal remittances for family support are treated differently from business investments or payments into restricted sectors. If the money is for business purposes, consult a sanctions attorney.
- Does a general license cover your situation? For agricultural goods, medicine, or personal remittances, review the applicable general license and confirm you meet every condition.
When the situation is unclear, you can request a specific license from OFAC for a particular transaction. That process takes time and approval isn’t guaranteed, but it produces a definitive answer.
Methods That Still Work
Many familiar rails are closed. Visa and Mastercard suspended operations for Russian-issued cards, Western Union closed its Russian operations, MoneyGram suspended services, and PayPal blocked sending and receiving funds with Russian accounts. If you’ve used any of these before, they are no longer options.
Non-Sanctioned Banks
Some smaller Russian banks and subsidiaries of foreign banks operating in Russia are not on the SDN List and can still receive wire transfers. The challenge is finding a U.S. bank willing to send the wire. Many U.S. banks have adopted blanket internal policies refusing all Russia-bound transfers regardless of sanctions status, purely to avoid compliance risk. Call your bank before initiating anything, and confirm both ends can process it. Expect elevated fees and delays.
Specialized Transfer Services
A handful of services specialize in transfers to Russia by routing money through non-sanctioned intermediaries. They typically accept payment by card or cryptocurrency and credit the recipient’s Russian bank card. Verify independently that any such service complies with U.S. sanctions law. A service accepting your money is not a determination that the transfer is legal on your end. You bear responsibility for sanctions compliance regardless of the intermediary.
Cryptocurrency
Sending cryptocurrency to a non-sanctioned person in Russia is not inherently illegal, but U.S. sanctions obligations apply to crypto the same way they apply to traditional currency. FinCEN has flagged specific red flags for sanctions evasion through cryptocurrency, including transactions connected to wallet addresses on the SDN List, transfers initiated from IP addresses in Russia, and use of exchanges in jurisdictions with weak compliance standards.10Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN Advises Increased Vigilance for Potential Russian Sanctions Evasion Attempts In practice, this means buying through a licensed U.S. exchange, transferring to the recipient’s wallet, and having them convert to rubles locally. Volatility and conversion fees eat into what the recipient ends up with.
Carrying Cash
Physically carrying U.S. dollars into Russia is an option for those who can travel. Anyone transporting more than $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments across the U.S. border must file FinCEN Form 105 at the time of departure.11Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN Form 105 Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments Failing to file, or filing a false report, can result in a fine up to $500,000, up to ten years in prison, and seizure of the funds. Russia requires declaration of cash over $10,000 at entry and limits cash exports to $3,000 or its equivalent, so any money brought in is largely a one-way trip. The State Department currently maintains a “Do Not Travel” advisory for Russia.12U.S. Department of State. Russia Travel Advisory
Penalties If You Get It Wrong
Anyone who willfully violates U.S. sanctions faces a criminal fine of up to $1,000,000 and up to 20 years in federal prison.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 1705 – Penalties “Willfully” means you knew the sanctions existed and chose to violate them. Structuring transfers to avoid detection or using intermediaries to obscure the true destination of funds can support a finding of willfulness.
Even without criminal intent, OFAC can impose civil penalties. The statutory base is the greater of $250,000 or twice the transaction amount, and OFAC adjusts these figures annually for inflation. The most recently published maximum was $377,700 per violation as of January 2025.14Federal Register. Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties Each transaction can count as a separate violation, so a pattern of impermissible transfers compounds quickly.
If a U.S. bank identifies a sanctions issue during processing, it must block the funds. Blocked money sits in a frozen account controlled by that bank, and releasing it requires either an OFAC license or a determination that the block was made in error. The process can take months and is not guaranteed to succeed.
Reporting Obligations Beyond Sanctions
Sanctions compliance is only half the picture. Moving money internationally can trigger IRS and FinCEN reporting requirements independent of anything OFAC does.
FBAR
If you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a bank account in Russia, and the combined value of all your foreign accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) using FinCEN Form 114.15Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) The threshold is based on the aggregate of all your foreign accounts. Penalties for non-willful violations can exceed $16,000 per account per year, and willful violations carry penalties of the greater of roughly $165,000 or 50% of the account balance, plus potential criminal prosecution.
Gift Tax Reporting
If you send more than $19,000 to any one person in Russia during 2026 as a gift, you exceed the annual gift tax exclusion and must file IRS Form 709.16Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax Filing doesn’t necessarily mean you owe tax, since the amount can apply against your lifetime exemption, but the filing requirement itself is mandatory.
Large Foreign Gifts Received
The rule runs in the other direction as well. A U.S. person who receives more than $100,000 in total gifts from a nonresident alien individual during the tax year must report those gifts on IRS Form 3520.17Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 3520 Penalties for failing to file can reach 25% of the unreported amount.
Before You Send
The sanctions environment around Russia changes often. OFAC continues to issue new designations, update general licenses, and take enforcement actions. What works today may not work next month if a bank gets added to the SDN List or a general license is amended. Before sending any significant amount, screen the recipient and their bank through OFAC’s Sanctions List Search, confirm your chosen method can actually complete the transaction, and keep records documenting the purpose and destination of the funds. If the amount is large or the situation is complicated, a sanctions attorney costs far less than the penalties for getting it wrong.