The US Department of Justice has accused Andrey Kostin, head of Russian state-owned bank VTB, of circumventing sanctions

The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has officially charged Andriy Kostin, head of Russian state-owned bank VTB. Alongside Kostin, former owner of VTB Bank Vadim Belyaev (Wolfson) and US citizen Gannon Bond have also been charged.

Kostin, Wolfson and Bond are charged with two counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and conspiracy to violate it. Kostin faces an additional charge of conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

The prosecution alleges that even after the introduction of US sanctions in 2018, Kostin continued to own a luxury estate in Aspen, Colorado, through a network of offshore companies, in gross violation of international law. The charges include conspiracy to circumvent sanctions, money laundering and wire fraud. ‘Kostin was prohibited from owning property or doing business in the United States,’ the US district judge said. The case will be heard by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, with hearings scheduled to begin on 16 June 2025.

Source: Aspen Daily News, Judicial and political newspaper in the world