Russia’s largest bank Sberbank said Wednesday that it was launching operations on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and would open offices there this year despite Western sanctions against companies working there.
“Sberbank has put together a team and is starting to work on the Crimean peninsula,” said the lender, which was hit with Western sanctions over Moscow’s assault in Ukraine. “Gradually, over the course of 2023, the bank’s offices will be opened.”