During a speech at the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk on March 28, 2025, President Putin thanked VEB.RF alongside DOM.RF for their contribution in drafting master plans for Arctic urban development and transport infrastructure. This involvement signals the bank’s close collaboration with the state in advancing strategic initiatives that underpin the authoritarian regime’s consolidation of power.

VEB.RF approved 55 projects valued at a total of 1.1 trillion rubles under the Cluster Investment Platform program. The initiative provides preferential loans to Russian industrial enterprises aiming to advance import substitution and boost domestic production in strategic sectors, reinforcing state-driven economic policies.

On February 4, 2025, VEB.RF approved 55 projects valued at 1.1 trillion rubles ($11 bln) under the Cluster Investment Platform, a state-subsidized mechanism aimed at supporting industrial investments and achieving import substitution goals.

The article details how VEB.RF, despite being hit with international sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent disconnection from systems like SWIFT, continues to be promoted by the Kremlin as a key player in Central Asia’s infrastructure projects. This ongoing role underscores its function as a state tool in furthering authoritarian economic policies.

Russian lawmakers have proposed transferring control over businesses of foreign companies that decide to leave Russia to the state development bank VEB.RF, thereby giving the bank a role in managing these companies. The proposal is aimed at either allowing the companies to resume operations in Russia or forcing a sale within three months, and targets firms with foreign ownership exceeding 25%, especially those considered critical to infrastructure or monopoly supplies.

Following its sanctioning in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, VEB.RF was replaced in several Central Asian loan transactions by International Development Projects LLC. Despite this sidelining of its direct financial operations, the Kremlin continues to promote VEB.RF as a major player in financing key infrastructure and industrial projects, a maneuver that underscores state-backed efforts to circumvent Western sanctions and maintain influence in the region.

VEB.RF, once labeled 'the financial arm of the Kremlin', was sanctioned in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent disconnection from SWIFT. Despite the sanctions, the Kremlin continues to leverage VEB.RF’s image and past financing activities to maintain influence in Central Asia, highlighting its role in channeling state-backed projects that serve authoritarian objectives.

On July 26, 2021, S&P Global Ratings affirmed VEB.RF's credit ratings, noting an almost certain likelihood of extraordinary government support. This affirmation underscores the bank’s critical role as a state-backed financial institution integral to Russia's policy and economic framework.