FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Russia’s VTB bank can no longer exercise control over its European subsidiary because of new sanctions, BaFin, Germany’s financial market regulator, said on Sunday.
The European Union formally adopted Friday a new salvo of sanctions against Russia, including/understanding the prohibition of imports as well as the prohibition to carry out transactions with four Russian banks of which VTB.
BaFin explains that because of the sanctions, the management of the Frankfurt-based VTB subsidiary is no longer authorized to take instructions from its parent company and its parent company can no longer access the financial assets and economic resources of its European subsidiary.
These measures lead to a complete confinement of VTB Bank (Europe) vis–vis its parent company.
VTB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
VTB was one of the Russian banks excluded from the Swift interbank system, preventing it from transferring money.
But the new sanctions deprive it of any transaction.
BaFin also indicated that savers with deposits with VTB’s European subsidiary would still have access to their funds.
(Report Tom Sims, French version Matthieu Protard)