The demands of the ECB are in-line with its position to restrict business with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The bank has similarly indicated that it has requested Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) to cut lending and payments in Russia.

According to Reuters, after months of discussions the ECB is ready to impose penalties and fines on UniCredit if the bank will not accept a legally-binding order that will be sent across in the near future.

Regulators are cracking down on sanctions in Russia as the conflict in Ukraine persists, however are struggling to keep big lenders such as RBI and UniCredit from continuing to do business in Russia.