By Nidhi verma and Nupur anand

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI -India’s leading lender won’t process transactions involving Russian entities, which are under international sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Reuters and other sources familiar with the matter, this letter was seen by Reuters.

A letter from State Bank of India (SBI), to some clients, stated that transactions not involving entities, banks and ports, or vessels on the U.S., European Union, or United Nations sanction list will not be processed, regardless of whether the currency of the transaction is in Indian rupees.

SBI did no immediate response to email or phone calls seeking comments on the matter.

“We have a significant international presence and we need to comply with U.S. and EU regulations as we are present in those jurisdictions and we cannot be seen as not adhering to these rules,” said a senior SBI executive.

Moscow called it a “special operation”, and the most severe attack against a European country since World War Two. The widespread condemnation of this invasion was met by a host of sanctions.

India, which is a long-standing trade and defense partner with Russia has yet to publicly condemn its long-standing ally but it has called for peace and diplomacy in order to end the violence.

SBI’s letter to clients also called for “extra precautions” in relation to transactions that may be related to sanctions countries.

Numerous major Indian corporations have strong links to the government-controlled lender. The bank has many overseas branches.

According to two industry professionals, SBI also requested information from Indian oil companies regarding their Russian exposure, including holdings in Russian assets and funds received in the past year.

Indian Oil Corp. is one of India’s most renowned refiners. It announced Monday that it no longer accepted cargoes of Russian oil or Kazakh CPC blend cargoes free of charge (FOB) due to the risk of an insurance claim.

Indian fertiliser firms also trade extensively with Russia to import crop nutrients.