Sberbanks Innovative Method Bypasses Sanctions for Transfers to Europe

Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, seems to have discovered a way around Western sanctions and SWIFT restrictions by facilitating wire transfers to European banks via third-party intermediaries, as reported by the independent news outlet The Bell on Friday.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sberbank and several other prominent Russian banks were disconnected from the SWIFT financial messaging network, significantly hindering their capacity to execute international transactions.

The Bell, which verified the workaround and spoke to other users who successfully completed transactions, revealed that Sberbank clients can transfer rubles through its mobile application to European users of Revolut or N26.

In this process, the funds are funneled through an intermediary that isn’t subject to sanctions, converted into cryptocurrency, and then sent to a secondary intermediary, who deposits euros into the recipient’s account at Revolut or N26.

Recipients reportedly view a sender name that isn’t connected to Sberbank — often reflecting a payment processor, a location in Central Asia, or a private individual.

This workaround appears to be exclusive to Sberbank, as attempts to execute similar transfers through other sanctioned institutions like Gazprombank and T-Bank were reportedly unsuccessful, according to The Bell.

A customer service representative from Sberbank mentioned to The Bell that individual transactions can send up to 500,000 rubles (approximately $6,400), with a maximum monthly transfer limit of 3 million rubles ($38,200). “It’s not a risky operation. The bank has always facilitated such transfers,” the representative stated.

Both Revolut and N26 have denied any connection to this transfer method, asserting that they block transactions that breach sanctions. N26 confirmed that it conducts regular compliance checks, while Revolut cautioned users that these transactions might be obstructed or lead to account freezes.

Legal analysts informed The Bell that the approach does not explicitly violate sanctions because of the use of intermediaries. Sberbank’s press office chose not to comment on the matter.

Russian journalist Nikita Mogutin was the first to disclose this workaround on June 13, highlighting a Polish intermediary involved.