Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has cut ties with VTB Bank PJSC as war rages on in the Ukraine and the international financial services industry weighs its exposure to Russia amid unprecedented sanctions.
In a statement on 7 March, the magic circle global law firm said: "Like so many others around the world, Freshfields is deeply concerned by the loss of life and unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. We strongly condemn the actions of the Russian government and express our solidarity with all those affected.
"From the outset, the firm has acted swiftly and responsibly with regard to both ongoing and new client mandates. We took immediate steps to terminate, suspend or decline mandates, and we are clear that we will not act for companies or individuals with close ties to the Russian state, with connections to the wider leadership regime, and/or who play a role in supporting or facilitating the current Russian military action.
"In line with this clear position, we are also immediately taking steps to terminate our litigation mandate with VTB.
"This approach goes beyond what is required to comply with our legal, regulatory and professional obligations, and reflects our values as a firm and the wider responsibilities of the global business community."
Another major London-headquartered law firm Norton Rose Fulbright yesterday announced its exit from Russia saying that it "stands unequivocally with the people of Ukraine who are suffering as a result of the increasingly brutal invasion by Russia".
"We are winding down our operations in Russia and will be closing our Moscow office as quickly as we can, in compliance with our professional obligations. The wellbeing of our staff in the region is a priority. We thank our 50 colleagues in Moscow for their loyal service and will support them through this transition.
"Some immediate actions are possible and we are taking them. We are not accepting any further instructions from businesses, entities or individuals connected with the current Russian regime, irrespective of whether they are sanctioned or not.
"In addition, we continue to review exiting from existing work for them where our professional obligations as lawyers allow. Where we cannot exit from current matters, we will donate the profits from that work to appropriate humanitarian and charitable causes.
"We are working with our charitable partners in every region to raise funds to help the people of Ukraine, as well as providing pro bono support to those Ukrainians and others who are being forced to relocate."
Linklaters was the first major law firms to announces its exit plans from Russia in a statement on 4 March.
It said: "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is reprehensible and it is right that we stand together in condemning it. After careful consideration of our Russia-related work, our firm has now made the following decisions:
"We will wind down our operations in Russia and close our Moscow office. We will continue supporting our people there in the process, doing all we can to help them transfer to new roles within Linklaters or otherwise. We are grateful to our Moscow team for all their contributions and friendship since we opened the office in 1992.
"We will not act for individuals or entities that are controlled by, or under the influence of, the Russian state, or connected with the current Russian regime, wherever they are in the world.
"We will wind down existing work in accordance with our legal and professional obligations.
"We will continue to assist international clients in dealing with the implications of the current crisis and in unwinding their Russian business interests.
"As the appalling war in Ukraine continues, our immediate thoughts remain with the Ukrainian people. We continue working to ensure that our colleagues and their families who are impacted are safe and have all the support they need."
Meanwhile, compliance and administrative services firm TMF Group, which today (8 March) released full year results showing revenue growth of 8% to €650m (2020: €603m), highlighted its office in Kyiv employing 57 Ukrainian nationals.
It said: "A number chose to be relocated before the attack by Russia began and are safe and well, working from TMF Group's Warsaw office. Support is being provided to those choosing to stay in Ukraine and the firm is in regular contact with them to check on their wellbeing.
"TMF Group acts as the first line of defence for its regulators, ensuring that the standards they set for those investing and operating in their jurisdiction are met. TMF Group's global compliance team is monitoring and acting on sanctions against Russia as they emerge. All services to newly sanctioned individuals and clients are immediately frozen pending discussion with TMF Group's regulators on the appropriate course of action.
"Given the complex interplay between individuals, institutions and government in Russia, TMF Group has decided to exit all work for clients with a Russian UBO. That decision will now be worked through our global offices.
"Separately, TMF Group has offices in Russia helping our North American, European and Asian clients operate there and will continue to maintain services to them, reflecting their dependency on TMF Group as a provider."
Mark Weil, TMF Group's CEO, said: "2021 was a pivotal year in which our focus on becoming a single, global partner for our clients started to come good. That points to a high growth future for TMF Group. We are a service business reliant on our people around the world for their daily care of our clients.
"In that context, my thoughts at this time are with our people in Ukraine and the extraordinary support being provided by their colleagues in neighbouring countries. A few years ago, we made integrity one of our five values for TMF Group. Our decision to stop serving Russian UBOs shows that we will live those values, even if it carries a cost to us."
Patrick de Graaf, TMF Group's CFO, said: "We finished the year ahead of forecast, marking eight continuous quarters of revenue, EBITDA and cash growth. We are in a high recurring revenue, highly predictable business and set a lot of store in living up to our commitments. We enter 2022 in great shape with a tailwind from 2021 sales growth, higher colleague and client engagement and the operational leverage from putting more revenue into our global delivery engines.
"While the Russia - Ukraine conflict will impact the global economy and therefore the markets in which TMF Group operates, our business model is resilient and we expect the conflict and our decision to exit Russian UBOs to have a limited impact on performance."
