Igor Kim becomes owner of Volkswagen Bank Rus

MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - The businessman Igor Kim has become the owner of Volkswagen Bank Rus LLC, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

Kim received a 45% stake in the bank directly and another 55% through his company Expomobility.

Germany's Volkswagen received permission from the Russian president to sell the Russian banking subsidiary on December 31, 2024.

Kim became well known in the Russian market as a banker and, in recent years, as a buyer of a number of assets from foreign companies exiting Russia. Kim and his partners became the owners of several leasing and production assets in the automotive industry, including the former Russian subsidiaries of CNH Industrial, Volvo, and Mitsubishi, in 2023-2024. Kim's Expobank bought HSBC group's bank in Russia last year.

An entity controlled by Kim bought the leasing and factoring subsidiaries of Volkswagen in Russia, Volkswagen Financial Services Rus LLC and Volkswagen Group Finance LLC, about a year ago.

Volkswagen Bank Rus was set up in 2010 to finance sales of Volkswagen brand cars, and specialized in issuing car loans. The bank was 135th in the Interfax-100 ranking of the country's banks in 2024 with assets of 24 billion rubles and capital of 23.6 billion rubles.

Expobank, with assets of 272.5 billion rubles, ranks 35th.

The United Kingdom included Kim in its sanctions list as a as a controlling party in Expobank on Monday.