Western Banks Sent Billions in Cash to Russia on Eve of Ukraine Invasion, Data Shows

As the Kremlin massed troops on Ukraine’s border in early 2022, and the threat of sanctions grew, wealthy Russians began flying crates of cash home — with help from Raiffeisen Bank International, Brink’s and Bank of America.

Trade data reviewed by OCCRP and Paper Trail Media shows that the three global institutions moved more than $12 billion worth of foreign currency to Russia just before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Most of the cash was in U.S. dollars, euros, and Swiss francs.

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) was by far the biggest money mover, sending 189 shipments worth a combined $10 billion.  

None of those shipments were illegal, as currency export bans were not imposed before the full-scale invasion. Brink’s and Bank of America said they no longer do business in Russia, while RBI is winding down its operations. All three institutions emphasized in comments to reporters that shipments had not violated any laws. 

The cash was all received by TBSS, a now-sanctioned Moscow importer-exporter whose headquarters also includes government entities, such as the Russian customs authority. Weeks after the invasion, both the European Union, and the U.S., outlawed the export of euros and dollars to Russia. 

Records point to a dramatic escalation in large imports of currency into Moscow starting on January 11. That was just a week before Russian troops began arriving in Belarus, which borders Ukraine, in what was seen as a precursor to the invasion. 

From January 11 to February 23, a total of 272 shipments — holding an average of $44.78 million in cash — were imported to Russia by TBSS. This amounted to more than triple the average shipment size TBSS had received in the years between 2017 and 2021, according to the data. 

At the time cash was shipped, there were widespread media reports about Russia laying the groundwork for an invasion. The New York Times reported that the officials from the administration of President Joseph Biden had been speaking with American banks about potential sanctions on Russia.

“This extraction of cash from Western financial institutions at a time of intense political risk should have raised red flags,” David Szakonyi, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University.

Leaving Russia

The trade data showing cash shipments was sourced from Import Genius, a company that acquires it from the Russian government. While the data may not be exhaustive — meaning it is possible that a shipment may not have been recorded — it does show a dramatic increase in movements of cash to Russia in the run-up to the invasion. 

The data shows at least 10 RBI cash deliveries to Moscow arrived on or after February 24, just as Russian tanks were advancing on Kyiv and warplanes bombed Ukrainian cities. Invoices show the shipments were sent just before the invasion.

“The RBI did not carry out any cash deliveries to Russia after the start of the war,” Christof Danz, a bank spokesperson, said in response to an inquiry by Der Standard and Paper Trail Media. 

RBI, in particular, has faced scrutiny over its business in Russia since the full-scale invasion began. The largest Western bank still present in Russia, it says it is winding down its operations there under European Central Bank orders. 

“In line with the ECB's requirements, we accelerate the reduction of the business volume in Russia,” said RBI CEO Johann Strobl in a July 2024 statement, adding that they are working on “the sale of Raiffeisenbank Russia." 

RBI confirmed to reporters this process is ongoing.

The data showed RBI and Brink’s shipping euros and U.S. currency, as well as some Swiss francs. For Bank of America, the data showed only shipments from the U.S., and in U.S. currency.

“We fully comply with all economic sanctions and required disclosures on currency transactions,” said Bill Halldin, a Bank of America spokesperson.

He added that “Bank Notes transactions in early 2022 were consistent with historic volumes when you include deliveries from all locations, not just the United States. Your data relies on shipments from the U.S. only, which provides an incomplete view of our past deliveries.” 

However, Halldin did not explain why the data showed a spike in shipments of U.S. currency from the U.S. in early 2022.

According to its 2022 annual report, Bank of America greatly reduced its Russian footprint in recent years. By the end of 2022, it had $443 million tied up in Russia, mostly in loans and leases, dropping from $733 million the previous year. 

Halldin said the bank “significantly curtailed our business in Russia after the 2014 invasion into Ukraine,” and now has “virtually no financial exposure in Russia” and “no business activities in Russia today.” 

The Brink's Company, which is based in Richmond, Virginia, and specializes in the secure transport of cash, said it “suspended all business with Russia in early 2022.”

“Brink’s is committed to complying with all laws and regulations governing our industry,” the company added.

TBSS did not respond to a request for comment. The company was sanctioned by the U.S. in February 2024, on the second anniversary of the Ukraine invasion. It has not been sanctioned by the E.U.

TBSS would have played an important role for the Kremlin by facilitating cash imports in the run-up to Russia’s assault on Ukraine, according to Janis Kluge from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a think tank linked to the government.

“Foreign currency in cash is always helpful in a war, especially since the attack on Ukraine was expected weeks in advance,” he said.

Global Crackdown 

In total, shipping records seen by reporters cover the period from March 2017 to December 2023. They do not indicate who the foreign currency shipments to Russia were destined for. But the numbers are striking.

Between March 2017 and the end of 2021, the average shipment from RBI to TBSS contained roughly the equivalent of $13.4 million. This shipment size nearly quadrupled just before the invasion, with each one containing an average of $53-million worth of various currencies. Such shipments were legal at the time, as currency controls had not yet been imposed.

“RBI adheres to all applicable sanctions regimes and goes beyond them in many respects in its compliance rules,” said Danz, the bank’s spokesperson.

The shipments from the three institutions together added up to a little over $12 billion flowing into Russia from January 11 to February 25, according to OCCRP calculations based on exchange rates at the time. 

Reuters reported the same trend last year, citing data which showed imports of 18.9 billion in euro and U.S. banknotes between November 2021 and February 2022. That compared to currency worth $17 million in the previous four months, Reuters reported, without naming the financial institutions that sent the cash. 

Brink’s is listed in Import Genius data as handling 64 shipments with a combined value of $1.3 billion. Most of those went from Switzerland to Russia, but cash was also sent from the U.S., Hong Kong and the U.K. 

According to the data, Bank of America sent five shipments from the U.S. over four weeks in early 2022 worth a combined $798 million. The amount the bank sent to TBSS in one month amounted to two-thirds of the total shipped from the U.S. between 2018 and 2021. The final shipment from Bank of America arrived in Moscow on February 14. 

“The U.S. government had not warned us to stop providing services to businesses in Russia at that time and had not imposed new economic sanctions,” Halldin, the bank’s spokesperson, said. “Consistent with the law prior to the war, we provided a small number of Russian banks with U.S. currency to meet the needs of their customers.”

He added that “the destination of the shipments” was cleared with the U.S.  Federal Reserve, and that the bank “stopped this service into Russia in February 2022 in compliance with new U.S. economic sanctions.” 

In the U.S., businesses are required to file a currency transaction report to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) when $10,000 or more in currency is moved in or out of the country.

Halldin said FinCEN did not raise concerns about any of the shipments. FinCEN did not respond to a request for comment. 

Szakonyi, the political science professor, said the uptick in shipments of cash to Russia could have served several purposes, coming as they did just before the assault on Ukraine.

Moscow needed to shore up cash to pay for its planned invasion, he said. “And if Russia sincerely believed it would take Kyiv, that requires co-opting politicians, business people, other powerful actors within Ukraine and committing them to a new Russian government, or Russia-backed government in Ukraine.” 

Private citizens would also have been watching their investments in the West with growing concern over the threat of sanctions.

"That increase in political risk puts wealthy Russians in a state of fear, and they're extracting all assets and all wealth from the West before they see the curtain drop," Szakonyi said.