Sberbanks Innovative Solution Bypasses Sanctions to Facilitate European Money Transfers

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, seems to have discovered a method to bypass Western sanctions and SWIFT restrictions by facilitating money transfers to European banks through third-party intermediaries, as reported by the independent news source The Bell on Friday.

Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sberbank and other prominent Russian financial institutions lost access to the SWIFT financial messaging network, which significantly hampered their capability to handle international transactions.

The Bell, which investigated this workaround and consulted with individuals who successfully made transfers, notes that Sberbank clients can use its mobile application to send rubles to European account holders at Revolut or N26.

The funds are sent through a non-sanctioned intermediary, converted into cryptocurrency, and then passed to a second intermediary that deposits euros into the recipient’s account at either Revolut or N26.

Recipients reportedly see a sender name that does not relate to Sberbank—often identifying as a payment processor, a city in Central Asia, or an individual.

It seems this workaround only operates with Sberbank. Attempts to make similar transactions through other sanctioned banks, such as Gazprombank and T-Bank, were unsuccessful, according to The Bell.

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

Both Revolut and N26 have denied any involvement in this transfer method and asserted that they block transactions that contravene sanctions. N26 mentioned it conducts routine compliance checks, while Revolut cautioned its users that such transfer attempts might be obstructed or lead to account freezes.

Legal analysts told The Bell that this strategy does not technically violate any sanctions due to the involvement of intermediaries. Sberbank’s press office declined to provide a comment.

Russian journalist Nikita Mogutin was the first to report this workaround on June 13, highlighting the use of a Polish intermediary.