# Andrey Kostin **Andrey Kostin** is the Soviet-era diplomat turned state banker who has run [[VTB Bank]] since June 10, 2002. ## Career Kostin served as a Soviet diplomat from 1979 to 1990, including a posting at the London embassy from 1985 to 1990. He became President and Chairman of VTB (then Vneshtorgbank) in 2002, and in August 2023 also became chairman of United Shipbuilding Corporation. ## Sanctions and charges The U.S. sanctioned Kostin personally on April 6, 2018, among 24 Russian officials and oligarchs designated that day. On February 22, 2024 the Justice Department charged him with money laundering and sanctions evasion connected to a superyacht, about $12 million *[single-sourced]*. ## RWKB angle Kostin personifies the fusion of Russian state finance and diplomatic-intelligence backgrounds; his bank was the name floated as backing for [[Trump Tower Moscow]]. ## See Also - [[VTB Bank]] - [[Russian Oligarchy]]