Japan on Tuesday rejected an allegation that the sanctions it has imposed on Russian private lender Sovcombank are illegal, and said Russia's aggression against Ukraine should have a significant cost.
Sovcombank is planning a legal challenge to sanctions imposed on it by Western countries over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and will start with Japan, where the bank has shareholders, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Sovcombank, one of Russia's 13 official "systemically important" credit institutions, has been unable to access certain markets owing to the restrictions.
