Businessman Grigory Guselnikov and Latvia-based JSC Norvik Banka completed a transaction with the shares of Russian lender PJSC Norvik Bank, operating under the brand name of Vyatka Bank, as a result of which the latter lender is no longer a subsidiary of Norvik Banka.

Vyatka did not disclose details of the transaction but said it was approved by the Russian central bank in 2017. As a result of the deal, Guselnikov and his family now control Vyatka Bank directly, and not via Norvik Banka, which he also owns.

Because it was part of a European banking group, Vyatka could not participate in various transactions, such as purchases of Sberbank bonds or transactions with Russian defense companies, the Russian lender said in its Feb. 26 filing. Having left Norvik Group, Vyatka Bank will operate as a separate company, taking independent decisions about its future, the lender's president, Sergei Tuvalkin, was cited as saying.

Russia-born Guselnikov and Norvik Banka recently made headlines after they accused Latvian central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics of trying to extort a bribe of €100,000 per month from Norvik to do business in the country.