US law firm Squire Patton Boggs drops Russia’s Gazprombank as client

US law firm Squire Patton Boggs has dropped Russia’s Gazprombank as a client, after closing its Moscow offices.

Squire Patton Boggs’ decision to exit its relationship with Russia’s third largest bank comes after the US law firm was hired by Gazprombank in 2014 to lobby against US sanctions, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Gazprombank’s relationship with Squire Patton Boggs saw two former US Senators lobby on behalf of the Russian bank, on issues linked to “banking laws and regulations including applicable sanctions,” according to the Center for Public Integrity.

The relationship came after former US Senators Trent Lott and John Breaux left politics in 2008, to start their own lobbying company, Breaux Lott Leadership Group. The firm was later acquired by Patton Boggs in 2010.

Gazprombank, which was formed to manage the finances of Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gapzrom, has thus far avoided many of the sanctions imposed on Russia’s other major financial institutions, despite facing debt and equity restrictions.

Squire Patton Boggs has not reported any lobbying income from Gazprombank since 2017, according to Reuters.   

The US law firm’s decision to drop Gazprombank as a client comes after the firm said it would close its Moscow offices. Squire’s decision to pull out of Russia comes as law firms from across the globe continue to pile out of the country, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.