The bank made the move over fears of secondary sanctions from the West, per RBC. Russia has been using the Chinese yuan to get around Western sanctions. Russian clients can still make yuan transfers within the Bank of China network, Semyonov added to RBC. The Chinese yuan surpassed the US dollar as the most heavily traded currency in February and March, according to Bloomberg data. Semyonov told RBC that Russian yuan transfers to the US and EU make up just 3% of all transfers in the currency.

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Persons: —, Russia's, Pavel Semyonov, Dmitry Lesnov, Semyonov, Finam Organizations: of, RBC, Service, The Bank of, European, Bank of China, EU, Novaya Gazeta, The, Swift, Bloomberg, Reuters Locations: of China, EU, Switzerland, Russia, The Bank of China, European Union, Modulbank, China, Novaya, Novaya Gazeta Europe, Ukraine