Sanctions
On 29 July 2014, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published that the Bank of Moscow and VTB Bank OJSC, the second-largest bank in Russia, had been added to the Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List.
On 31 July 2014, VTB Bank and its subsidiaries was added to the European Union sanctions list due to its role in the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation that same year[58] and the United Kingdom list from 1 August.[59]
On 6 August 2014, VTB was added to the Canadian sanctions list due to its role in the Russo-Ukrainian War and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.[60]
On 13 August 2014, the United States clarified the entities subject to sectoral sanctions. The United States increased its sectoral sanctions on VTB Bank, together with its subsidiaries ("the VTB Group") and the Bank of Moscow, through its parent bank, VTB Bank OAO, and other entities that VTB has a 50 percent or greater ownership stake in, either individually or in the aggregate, either directly or indirectly. Also, US persons cannot use a third-party intermediary, and they must use caution during "transactions with a non-blocked entity in which one or more blocked persons has a significant ownership interest that is less than 50 percent or which one or more blocked persons may control by means other than a majority ownership interest".[61]
On 1 September 2014, VTB was added to the Australian autonomous sanctions list for Russia, Crimea, and Sevastopol.[62][63][64]
On 12 September 2014, the United States issued a consolidated listing of directives associated with Executive Order 13662 sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian war. For the Russian financial sector, Directive 1 was amended to increase the financial sanctions on the Russian financial sector for "all transactions in, provision of financing for, and other dealings" in new equity or new debt issued on or after 12 September 2014 to longer than 30 days maturity. New equity or new debt issued from 29 July 2018 until 12 September 2018 was sanctioned if longer than 90 days maturity.[65][66][67][68]
In 2015, the banks' chief Executive Andrei Kostin predicted loses for the bank in the years to come because of the plunging ruble accelerated by international sanctions.[69]
On 15 March 2017, Ukraine imposed sanctions against VTB Bank and subsidiaries because of the ongoing Russian interference in Ukraine.[70][71]
On 28 November 2017, the United States increased the sanctions imposed by Executive Order 13662 on the Russian financial sector. For the Russian financial sector, Directive 1 was amended to increase the financial sanctions on the Russian financial sector for "all transactions in, provision of financing for, and other dealings" in new equity or new debt issued on or after 28 November 2017 to longer than 14 days maturity. New equity or new debt issued from 12 September 2014 until 28 November 2017 was sanctioned if longer than 30 days maturity.[72]
On 27 November 2018, the National Bank of Ukraine declared the Ukrainian subsidiary of VTB Bank insolvent due to its declining liquidity and worsening financial position.[73]
On 25 June 2020 European Court of Justice rejected VTB and Sberbank bank's 2014 lawsuit against EU sectoral sanctions citing that regulators were within their aims of "imposing a cost on the Russian government" because of the latter's actions in Ukraine.[74][75][76][77] The court specified that ambiguity in some language versions of the regulation (that the bank argued were wrongly applied) doesn't prevent the court interpreting that section in a way best suited to the general purpose of the legislation, and precedent.[74]
In February 2022, amid the Russo–Ukrainian crisis, US and EU officials were reportedly finalizing an extensive package of sanctions on VTB bank and other related Russian entities.[78] On 24 February, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US president Joe Biden and British prime minister Boris Johnson announced new sanctions against VTB bank and its directors, along with other Russian individuals and companies.[79]
