US removes sanctions on former Sberbank executive Alexandra Buriko

WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday removed sanctions on Alexandra Buriko, the former chief financial officer of Russia's state-owned Sberbank, according to a post on the U.S. Treasury Department website.

Buriko was among a group of senior executives and board members who resigned from Western-sanctioned Sberbank shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Buriko in May 2022 as part of an action targeting "individuals and entities critical to Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine," including what it said at the time were eight current and recent senior executives of Sberbank.

Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, was hit with U.S. sanctions in April 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February that year.

Buriko sued the Treasury Department in Washington federal court in December 2024, arguing she had severed ties with Sberbank days after it was sanctioned and her continued inclusion on the sanctioned list was unlawful. The lawsuit remains pending.

Buriko and the U.S. government repeatedly said in court filings this year that they were in negotiations to resolve the case.

The Treasury Department had no immediate comment on Tuesday's removal of sanctions on Buriko.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Andrew Goudsward in Washington and Bhargav Acharya and Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Nick Zieminski)