Putin Greenlights Citibanks Complete Exit from Russia with Renaissance Capital Acquisition

President Vladimir Putin has approved the sale of Citibank’s Russian division to the local investment firm Renaissance Capital, as stated in a decree published on Wednesday. This move marks the completion of Citigroup’s exit from the Russian market.

The Kremlin’s decree permits Renaissance Capital to acquire 100% of Citibank Russia from its parent company, Citigroup Netherlands B.V., without needing any further regulatory clearance.

Citigroup initially announced its intentions to divest its Russian consumer operations in 2021 but decided to cease all activities following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Since that time, Citibank has significantly limited its local operations, halted the issuance of debit cards, closed its final retail branch in Moscow, and wrapped up its remaining activities this month.

Renaissance Capital is a Moscow-headquartered investment bank and one of the few Russian financial organizations not currently affected by Western sanctions. Established in the 1990s, it was under the control of billionaire and former presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov until 2024.

Renaissance Capital confirmed the deal to Reuters but stated that it had «no further details to share.» Citibank did not reply to requests for comment.

The specifics of the transaction have not been disclosed in the decree or by either involved party.

The decree issued on Wednesday falls within the framework of special economic measures implemented following the invasion of Ukraine.

With Citibank’s departure, only a limited number of Western banks remain active in Russia, including Austria’s Raiffeisen, Italy’s UniCredit, and Hungary’s OTP Bank.