Russian Bank: We Assigned $12 Billion ‘Loan’ to Poor African State by Mistake

Russian Bank: We Assigned $12 Billion ‘Loan’ to Poor African State by Mistake
A police officer stands guard near a sign with the logo of the Russian lender VTB at the Moscow International Business Centre also known as "Moskva-City" in Moscow, Russia on Nov. 21, 2017. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
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LONDON/MOSCOW—The impoverished state of Central African Republic landed a windfall on Nov. 27, at least on paper, when Russian state bank VTB reported it had lent the country $12 billion—but the bank then said it was a clerical error and there was no such loan.

The loan was mentioned in a quarterly VTB financial report published by the Russian central bank. The report included a table listing the outstanding financial claims that VTB group had on dozens of countries as of Oct. 1 this year.