Buying US Real Estate as a Russian Citizen: Closing Checks, Financing and FIRPTA
No federal law stops a Russian citizen from buying a house or an apartment in the United States. A few states restrict such purchases, and those statutes turn on domicile more than on the passport.
Everywhere else, buying US real estate as a Russian citizen comes down to four practical questions: who screens the buyer on the way to closing, whether the money can be traced, whether anyone...
State Property Bans for Russian Citizens: Where They Apply in 2026
This is not a sanctions question, and the difference matters
Can a Russian citizen buy a house, a condominium, or commercial property in the United States? A few years ago the answer usually began and ended with a sanctions check. That is no longer sufficient. It is now also necessary to establish where the property is located, where the buyer lives, what his immigration status is, and, if...
Inheritance from Russia to the US: How to Claim It and Get the Money to Your Account
Four barriers, and only two of them are American
An inheritance from Russia to the US rarely arrives on a lawyer’s desk as a question of law. It arrives as a wire that did not land, a bank that has asked for documents nobody kept, or a client who has just discovered that the six-month window closed four months ago.
It helps to separate four barriers that operate independently of one...
Source of Funds for a US Business: What US Banks Check for Russian Clients
Source of funds vs. source of wealth: two different questions
Bank compliance teams work with two related but distinct concepts. Source of funds is the origin of a specific sum moving through a specific transaction, say, a $200,000 wire into a new company's account. Source of wealth is the origin of a client's entire net worth: how the person built the fortune of which this transaction is...
US Bank Account for Foreigners: What Banks Really Ask
Why a foreigner needs a US bank account
For a foreigner who is building a business in the US, incorporating a Delaware C-Corp or an LLC, receiving payments from American counterparties, or paying expenses in dollars, a US bank account for foreigners often becomes a practical necessity. At the same time, the account-opening process is frequently described either too optimistically (“just show...
Refiling a Delisting Petition: How to Use Prior Denials
How Many Times You Can File a Delisting Petition
There is no formal cap on the number of delisting petitions a party may file with OFAC; neither 31 C.F.R. § 501.807, nor any other OFAC regulation limits the number of attempts. Refiling a delisting petition is, in that narrow sense, always available. In practice, however, this does not mean refiling is worthwhile on its own terms: the number...
Russians Denied US Bank Accounts: Why Banks Refuse Service Even Without Sanctions
A phenomenon broader than sanctions
Many Russian citizens assume that if they are not named on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, hold no blocked assets, and face no individual restrictions, a US bank has no real basis to turn them away. In practice, Russians denied US bank accounts is a routine outcome, and it happens regardless of whether...
LLC vs C-Corp: Which Structure Fits a Non-U.S. Founder
What Actually Separates an LLC From a C-Corp
For a non-U.S. founder, the first real decision when starting a business in the U.S. isn't where to register; it's what to register. In practice, that choice comes down to two options: LLC vs C-Corp. Both shield the owner's personal assets from the company's debts, and both are open to a non-resident with no visa or citizenship requirement. The...
OFAC SDN Delisting: Lawsuit or Petition? Lessons from the Zadornov, Buriko, and Maltsev Cases
What Happened on June 11, 2026
On June 11, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC) updated its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). Two Russia-linked individuals were removed: Sergey Aleksandrovich Maltsev, a former deputy chairman of the management board of Sberbank, and Olga Borisovna Raykes, a businesswoman...
Indian Companies Delisting: OFAC Removes Four Firms from the SDN List
What Happened on June 30, 2026
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed four Indian companies from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) under the RUSSIA-EO14024 program. This Indian companies delisting covered RRG Engineering Technologies Private Limited and Lokesh Machines Limited (both based in...