Retail deposits at Bank Rossiya plunged 35 percent within just one month, shrinking from almost 37 billion roubles to under 24 billion roubles.

      This shortage follows the sanctions slapped against the bank by the US in late March 2014. Visa and MasterCard stopped processing payments for the bank’s customers, claiming they had to obey the restrictions imposed by the Obama administration.

      Russia has sparked a wave of criticism after it incorporated Crimea into its territory following a referendum on the peninsula with a large ethnic Russian population.

      The US and the EU imposed a raft of sanctions on Russian officials and individuals with close ties to the Kremlin.

      The US also put space and military cooperation on hold, followed by some of its NATO allies, including the UK.