Ukraine sanctions five Russian-owned banks

The president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has signed off on sanctions decided by the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (the ‘NSDC’) against five Ukrainian banks underwritten with Russian state capital operating in the country. The banks are Sberbank PJSC; VS Bank PJSC; Prominvestbank PJSC; VTB Bank PJSC and BM Bank PJSC. In a statement released on 15 March, Yakiv Smolii, the first deputy head of the National Bank of the Ukraine, said: ‘The sanctions aim to protect the interests of these banks’ customers and prevent the outflow of capital from Ukraine. These sanctions will prevent Ukrainian banks with Russian...