Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, has come to rescue to the sanctions-hit banks of Rossia and SMP bank in a move that appears to bypass the restrictions.

      In April, the international payment systems were forced to stop processing transactions by customers of these banks after the US introduced sanctions against their owners, the Rotenberg brothers and Yury Kovalchuk, respectively, who are believed to be close to the Kremlin.

      The institutions will now have access to Pro100, a universal card system dominated by Sberbank, allowing their customers to cash in and cash out using Sberbank's ATM network and those of its partners.

      Russia is facing increasing pressure from the West for its alleged role in the Ukraine crisis. Moscow has denied its involvement in the armed conflict between the central government and separatists in the south-east of the country.