Gazprombank

Gazprombank (russian: Газпромбанк), or GPB (JSC), is a private-owned Russian bank, the third largest bank in the country by assets. Since November 2014, Yuri Shamalov's Gazfond is its largest shareholder.

The bank’s principal business areas are corporate banking, retail banking, investment banking and depository services. Its banking activities also include securities trading, foreign exchange operations, precious metals operations, clearing operations and settlement services.

The bank has a distribution network of 43 branches and over 260 banking outlets located throughout the Russian Federation. GPB also has ownership interests in three other Russian banks. In addition, Gazprombank is represented in the markets of Belarus and Switzerland through ownership interests in two foreign banks: Belgazprombank (Belarus) and Gazprombank (Switzerland) Ltd. Gazprombank also has representative offices in Mongolia, China and India.

History

In August 2005 for 37.22 billion rubles, Gazprombank purchased Gazprom Media, the largest Russian media holding, which includes the former Media Most holdings of Vladimir Gusinsky including the Sem Days publishing house, Echo of Moscow, both the NTV channel and NTV Plus, and ''Izvestia'' newspaper, from the bank's parent company Gazprom. After Gazprom-Media took over "Media Most" in 2000, Gazprom-Media received Filipp Bobkov's entire former KGB 5th directorate (Political police) which was responsible for disinformation, control of dissidents, and executions including all of its employees, its database and the Filipp Bobkov founded security service that was accused of attempting an assassination in 1994 of Boris Berezovsky.Григорьев, Андрей (Grigoriev, Andrei) (28 March 2000)
Аполитичный Гусинский
Apolitical Gusinsky. (in Russian). ''«Компания»'' — деловой еженедельник (''Company'')
Archived
from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2021. The entire archive of 5th KGB Main Directorate was taken to Media-Most.

In 2012, OJSC Gazprom owned a 41.73% stake in Gazprombank and NPF Gazfond owned a 46.92% stake in Gazprom. Most of the stake in Yuri Shamalov's Gazfond is managed by Anatoly Gavrilenko's Lider Management which is part of the SOGAZ insurance group which, until March 2014, was controlled by the Vladimir Putin associated Rossiya Bank which has Yuri Kovalchuk as its largest shareholder. In March 2014 Rossiya bank sold its indirect control of Lider to Gasfond which has a 45% stake in Lider. As of November 2014, Gazfond is the largest shareholder of Gazprombank which controls Gazprom Media.

The bank was nominated in 2014 for the annual Emerging Market Bond Awards, hosted by EuroWeek.

In July 2014, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Gazprombank OAO that prohibit U.S. citizens from providing it with new financing. In response, Gazprombank contracted former U.S. Senator Trent Lott to lobby on its behalf against the sanctions.

On February 24, 2022, US President Joe Biden announced sanctions against Gazprombank and other Russian financial institutions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In August 2022, the state capitalized Gazprombank by 50 billion rubles at the expense of the Russian National Wealth Fund. The authorized capital of the bank increased to 246.85 billion rubles. Now the state owns a share of 36.44%.

Changes (deaths) in the leadership team (2022)

On January 29, 2022, Leonid Shulman, the head of the Gazprom-invest transport service, was found dead.

On February 25, 2022, Alexander Tyulyakov, Deputy General Director of the Unified Settlement Center of Gazprom, was found dead in a noose.

On March 2, 2022, Igor Volobuev, Vice President of Gazprombank, fled Russia to move to his native Ukraine, having been born in Okhtyrka, Sumy. Since he arrived in Kiev he stated that his life was in danger, and that the death of Vladislav Avayev was not a murder suicide, but an assassination.Вице-президент Газпромбанка Игорь Волобуев уехал в Киев
/ref> He has also joined the Ukrainian territorial defense in an effort to 'wash off' his Russian past.

On April 18, 2022, former Gazprombank vice-president Vladislav Avayev was found dead from gunshot wounds in his Moscow apartment, along with his wife and daughter, in an apparent murder-suicide. Volobuev considers the death of Vladislav Avayev an assassination.

References and notes

External links

Official site

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Banks of Russia
Gazprom subsidiaries
Companies based in Moscow
Banks established in 1990
1990 establishments in Russia
Government-owned companies of Russia
Russian entities subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions
Government-owned banks