Economics
Putin’s Once-Mighty Bank for Pet Projects Now on Chopping Block
- VEB selling off assets at fire-sale prices, cutting jobs
- Kremlin mulls deeper cuts as quest for funding comes up short
The headquarters of Vnesheconombank in Moscow.
Photographer: Laski Diffusion - Wojtek Laski/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The bank that financed Vladimir Putin’s grandest ambitions is running out of cash.
Vnesheconombank, which underwrote mega-projects like the Sochi Olympics and secret aid to allies in Ukraine, is dumping assets at fire-sale prices and relying on emergency government assistance to avoid default. It has virtually stopped new lending and cut off financing to most existing projects, according to two people close to the bank.