Russian VTB Group Taps Lobbying Firm In Washington, D.C.

manatos manatos public affairs firm

Manatos & Manatos, a public affairs lobbying firm, recently filed paperwork with the United States Department of Justice showing their firm has been hired by VTB Capital, Inc., a subsidiary of VTB Group, a global provider of financial services and one of the two largest banks in Russia – and over 60 percent owned by the Russian government.

According to the FARA registration, M&M will provide “lobbying Congressional and/or Executive Branch actions that affect the imposition of the U.S. sanctions on Russian-affiliated banks.” The base fee they will receive is $17,500 per month plus the costs of any work they provide for VTB, which Manatos has represented previously – beginning in April 2015.

Part of what M&M will provide includes “Arranging meetings between VTB Group officials and U.S. policymakers, drafting language for use in correspondence, and monitoring statements and policy related to the imposition of sanctions.”

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VTB Group issued an email in 2015 when they originally signed with M&M that, “The granting of such contracts is exclusively linked to the promotion of VTB Group’s business interests in the U.S.” VTB and other Russian-supported global banks hope to remain off the foreign sanctions list.

Manatos & Manatos are prominent lobbyists in Washington D.C. The CEO/President, Andy Mantos, and Mike (Sr. VP) are Greek Orthodox brothers hailing from DC and have well-established connections in the U.S. Congress.

Their website says, “Manatos & Manatos offers clients a comprehensive range of government relations services tailored to meet their unique needs. Through our many decades of experience in Washington, M&M has developed extraordinary credibility with policymakers from both parties at the highest levels of the Legislative and Executive Branches.”

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