Revealed: Tony Blair spoke at events run by sanctioned Russian state-controlled bank

Exclusive: Former prime minister participated in series of events, including two after Salisbury nerve agent attack

Sir Tony Blair speaking at a session held by Sberbank at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2015 (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sir Tony Blair has spoken at a series of events run by a Kremlin-controlled bank – including a number held after it was sanctioned by the EU following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, it can be revealed.

The former UK prime minister addressed five events organised by Sberbank, or a linked entity, between 2012 and 2020 – three after it was sanctioned by the EU in 2014, and two of which were in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack in 2018.

The bank has subsequently been subject to even harsher sanctions by the UK government, following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In 2020, Sir Tony also participated in a discussion with the bank’s chief executive, Herman Gref – described as a close ally of the Russian president – who was personally sanctioned by the UK in March this year.

As part of an extension to sanctions aimed at cutting off the Russian economy, UK foreign secretary Liz Truss announced in late February that Sberbank would be prevented from clearing payments in sterling.

In mid-March, Sir Tony praised the West for “impressively” uniting to “assemble a vast arsenal of sanctions which will over time collapse the Russian economy”.

But the former Labour leader has spoken at a series of Sberbank events, including after the bank was sanctioned in 2014 by the EU – when the UK was still a member – over the annexation of Crimea.

A spokesperson for Sir Tony said that “no fee was received subsequent to… [a 2013] event”, suggesting that the former prime minister was paid to speak at events in 2013 and 2012. No figures disclosing payment amounts were provided. Until the invasion, the spokesperson argued, “Sberbank was a highly regarded international Russian bank with connections all over the world”.

Thomas Mayne, an expert in corruption studies and central Asian politics at the think tank Chatham House, said: “Tony Blair's association with Sberbank... lends credibility to the bank, a key part of Putin’s kleptocracy, and serves to legitimise the Kremlin and its regime.

“Blair, along with many other Western leaders, should have done much more in resisting Putin and his associates by doing more while in power to stop the flow of dubious Russian capital into the West.”

Bill Browder, a British-American financier who has campaigned against corruption in Russia, said: “One of the reasons Putin has been able to get away with his crimes for the past 22 years is that he has relied on an array of top establishment figures who have helped legitimise him.

“Many former European heads of state and ministers have received enormous amounts of money from Russian interests when it was obvious that Putin was committing crimes all over the world.”

In July 2020, Sir Tony appeared alongside Mr Gref in an online discussion as part of “Cyber Polygon”, a conference hosted by BI.ZONE, a subsidiary of Sberbank. The pair enjoyed a friendly conversation, with Sberbank’s chief executive describing Sir Tony’s participation as a “great honour for us” and the former Labour leader saying it was “a great pleasure to be with you”.

Herman Gref, CEO of Sberbank, is said to be a close ally of Vladimir Putin (Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Comments made by Sir Tony at the event were covered in an article by the technology publication The Register, but his appearance seemingly generated little interest at the time.

In January 2019, Sir Tony was pictured addressing a Sberbank breakfast held at Davos, where he is said to have spoken about globalisation, crises and Brexit. Both events came after the Salisbury poisonings in March 2018.

In June 2015, Sberbank boasted in a press release that Sir Tony spoke at a session held by the bank at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Sberbank session, “Topical issues of anti-crisis policy: government reform”, was chaired by Mr Gref. Newspaper reports at the time noted the former prime minister’s appearance at what was dubbed a “vanity summit”.

In April 2013, a Sberbank press release detailed Sir Tony’s involvement in an event in Moscow in a discussion about the “challenges” Russia can expect from the 21st century as part of the “landmark” Russia Forum, an annual business event organised by Sberbank. The press release also noted that former US secretary of state Colin Powell would participate in the discussion.

In 2012, Sir Tony delivered a lecture to 550 people “on the topic [of] Modern political world view. New Challenges (China, America, Central Asia)”, according to a Sberbank report featuring a list of meetings and programmes that were organised and conducted for “CORPORATE UNIVERSITY”. It suggests the lecture was organised by Sberbank Corporate University, which is funded by Sberbank.

On 1 March this year, PJSC Sberbank was put on the UK sanctions list and subjected to an asset freeze on 6 April. Mr Gref was personally sanctioned by the UK on 24 March.

The UK’s sanctions list states that the bank “is involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the government of Russia”.

In 2014, Sberbank was sanctioned by the EU, before the UK left, following the annexation of Crimea. The sanctions – which have remained in place since, replaced by UK law coming into force at the end of the Brexit transition period – relate to transferable securities or money-market instruments, as well as loans and credit arrangements. The sanctions did not prevent individuals being paid for speaking arrangements.

A spokesperson for Sir Tony said: “He has participated in Sberbank events over the years, obviously all before the invasion of Ukraine. The 2013 event with Colin Powell was arranged through the Washington Speakers Bureau. No fee was received subsequent to that event, though travel costs were reimbursed for the 2015 trip.

“The institute has received no money from Sberbank. Until the invasion, when it was sanctioned as an important part of the Russian economy, Sberbank was a highly regarded international Russian bank with connections all over the world.”

The Tony Blair Institute “has not received any funding or payments from BI.ZONE”, the spokesperson added.

Sberbank, Sberbank Corporate University and BI.ZONE were contacted for comment.