Ministers will also legislate to prohibit Russian companies from raising capital on UK markets and impose sanctions against more than 100 individuals, entities and their subsidiaries.

Russian nationals will also not be allowed to hold more than £50,000 worth of deposits at UK banks.

The tougher measures came after Mr Johnson was criticised for imposing sanctions that were regarded by many as being too weak prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion.  

Despite VTB’s suspension, investors can still trade its London-listed global depositary receipts as the bank does not receive any financial benefit from the activity and is therefore not covered by the sanctions. 

Several VTB executives were also named on sanctions lists by Western governments, including Andrey Kostin, its president-chairman who is a member of the supreme council of the United Russia political party. 

The bank’s deputy chairman, Denis Bortnikov, is also named on the UK’s sanctions list.

VTB is Russia’s second-largest bank with assets totalling £154bn and 95,000 employees.