EU to sanction Sberbank, other banks

EU sanction Russia’s largest lender Sberbank and other Russian financial firms

The European Union plans to sanction Russia’s largest lender Sberbank and other Russian financial firms in its next round of restrictions, European Commission head Ursula Von der Leyen told a German newspaper, Qazet.az reports.

"We are looking further at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which accounts for 37% of the Russian banking sector," Von der Leyen said.

The US had imposed severe sanctions on Sberbank and another Russian lender, Alfa Bank, earlier in April. The UK has also sanctioned Sberbank and committed to ending all imports of Russian coal and oil by the end of 2022.

But the EU had, so far, spared Sberbank and another large Russian lender, Gazprombank, because they were the main routes for its payments for Russian oil and gas.