--- title: Fortune 500 companies - including AT&T and Wells Fargo - appear to be buying ads on website of Russian bank Sberbank using Google Ads description: Many Fortune 500 companies appear to buy ads on website of a sanctioned Russian state-owned bank Sberbank. Find out which one in the blog. image: https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/fortune%20500%20brands%20buying%20ads%20on%20sberbank%20website.png --- [![pixalate-full-logo](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Pixalate_Logos/pixalate-full-logo.jpg?width=150&height=60&name=pixalate-full-logo.jpg "pixalate-full-logo")](https://www.pixalate.com) Search **Menu** ** ** ![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/pixalate-blog-bg.png) [Thought Leadership](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/thought-leadership) | [Privacy](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/privacy) | [Research Reports](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/research-reports) | 3 min read # Fortune 500 companies - including AT&T and Wells Fargo - appear to be buying ads on website of Russian bank Sberbank using Google Ads Written by [Pixalate](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/author/pixalate) Mar 4, 2022 11:25:00 AM Want to see the websites? Download the list [here](https://www.pixalate.com/sberbank-websites-list-google-ads). [![Download The List](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2364596/4bc56eac-24b0-4a6c-ba00-2c9b10fff910.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2364596/4bc56eac-24b0-4a6c-ba00-2c9b10fff910) ### **Fortune 500 companies appear to be buying ads on Sberbank website, even after new U.S. sanctions** *Note: Pixalate understands that the sanctions are focused on U.S. financial institutions. We are not asserting that any company named in this blog is violating any laws in connection with the purchase of ads on any Sberbank website. It is Pixalate’s intention to make advertisers aware of the adjacency* Sberbank is a state-owned Russian banking and financial services company. It is Russia’s largest financial institution, [according](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0608) to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Pixalate has identified at least six Sberbank websites ([download list here](https://www.pixalate.com/sberbank-websites-list-google-ads)). At least one of them — onlaine-sberbank.ru — is using Google Ads for monetization as of March 2, 2022. In a short duration test on March 2, 2022, Pixalate observed the following advertisers appearing to buy ads on the website — several of which are (or are owned by) Fortune 500 companies: - Google - Wells Fargo - Spectrum (Charter Communications) - HBO Max (AT&T) promoting Harry Potter - Square Online (Block, Inc.) - GoDaddy - Hotels.com - AARP and the Ad Council Here are the creatives captured: **Google** **![sberbank-google](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-google.png?width=600&name=sberbank-google.png)** **Wells Fargo** **![sberbank-wells-fargo](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-wells-fargo.png?width=600&name=sberbank-wells-fargo.png)** **Spectrum** **![sberbank-spectrum](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-spectrum.png?width=600&name=sberbank-spectrum.png)** **AT&T (HBO Max promoting Harry Potter)** **![sberbank-hbo-harry-potter](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-hbo-harry-potter.png?width=600&name=sberbank-hbo-harry-potter.png)** **Square Online (Block, Inc.)** **![sberbank-square](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-square.png?width=600&name=sberbank-square.png)** **GoDaddy** **![sberbank-godaddy](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-godaddy.png?width=600&name=sberbank-godaddy.png)** **Hotels.com** **![sberbank-hotels](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-hotels.png?width=600&name=sberbank-hotels.png)** **AARP and the Ad Council** **![sberbank-aarp-ad-council](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/sberbank-aarp-ad-council.png?width=600&name=sberbank-aarp-ad-council.png)** ### **More about Sberbank and U.S. sanctions** The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) from the U.S. Department of Treasury maintains lists of sanctioned countries, persons and companies. Individuals and entities in the U.S. (including U.S. branches or subsidiaries of foreign entities) doing business overseas must have robust compliance policies and controls in place to ensure they do not transact improperly with any OFAC-sanctioned countries, entities or individuals. For Russian companies, much of the financial industry is sanctioned currently. On February 24, 2022, OFAC updated its [Russian-related designations](https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20220224) and included Sberbank on its correspondent account or a payable-through account (CAPTA) list of sanctioned companies under [Executive Order 14024](https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/russia_directive_1a.pdf) Directive 2, which covers “prohibitions related to correspondent or payable-through accounts and processing of transactions involving certain foreign financial institutions.” The actions taken against Sberbank require closure of Sberbank correspondent or payable-through accounts within 30 days and prohibit future transactions with Sberbank and certain of its foreign financial institution subsidiaries (unless an express sanctions exemption applies or the transaction is authorized in advance by OFAC via a license). The U.S. Department of Treasury [stated](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0608) that it has taken “significant and unprecedented action to respond to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine by imposing severe economic costs,” including sanctions against Sberbank and certain of its subsidiaries. The U.S. Department of Treasury [wrote](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0608): *On a daily basis, Russian financial institutions conduct about $46 billion worth of foreign exchange transactions globally, 80 percent of which are in U.S. dollars. The vast majority of those transactions will now be disrupted. By cutting off Russia’s two largest banks — which combined make up more than half of the total banking system in Russia by asset value — from processing payments through the U.S. financial system. The Russian financial institutions subject to today’s action can no longer benefit from the remarkable reach, efficiency, and security of the U.S. financial system.* ### **See the list of  Sberbank websites to see if you may be buying ads on them** Download a list of these websites for free here. [![Download The List](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2364596/4bc56eac-24b0-4a6c-ba00-2c9b10fff910.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2364596/4bc56eac-24b0-4a6c-ba00-2c9b10fff910) ### Search Blog Search ### Follow Pixalate ### Subscribe to our blog *By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) Previous Story [← Pixalate on ABC7 News: The State of Children's Privacy Online](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/pixalate-abc7-state-of-children-privacy-online-mobile-apps) [** ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog) Next Story [Pixalate Week in Review: February 28 - March 4, 2022 →](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/march-4-2022-weekly-update) ## You May Also Like These Stories on Thought Leadership [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Q%26A%20with%20Krush%20Media%20-%20cover.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/krush-media-qa) [Case Studies](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/case-studies) ### [Q&A with Steven Slaughter, Head of Ad Ops & Yield at Krush Media, on managing a clean CTV and Mobile Ad Supply Chain](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/krush-media-qa) Jun 27, 2023 12:00:00 PM | 4 min read [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Q%26A%20with%20Screencore%20-%20cover.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/screencore-qa) [Case Studies](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/case-studies) ### [Q&A with Jess Okan, Co-founder and CEO of Screencore, on strategies for minimizing ad fraud in the connected TV ecosystem](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/screencore-qa) May 30, 2023 7:00:00 AM | 6 min read [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Oleksandra%20Kazantseva.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/bizzclick-qa) [Case Studies](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/case-studies) ### [Q&A with Oleksandra Kazantseva, Head of Programmatic at BizzClick, on transparency, trust, and security](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/bizzclick-qa) Apr 17, 2023 2:00:00 PM | 4 min read ** ### Subscribe to our blog *By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) ![pixalate-logo-red-small](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2018NewTemplate/pixalate-logo-red-small.png?width=208&name=pixalate-logo-red-small.png "pixalate-logo-red-small") ** By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) Products [Analytics](https://www.pixalate.com/products/analytics) [Blocking](https://www.pixalate.com/products/blocking) [Media Rating Terminal](https://www.pixalate.com/products/mrt) [Publisher Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [Seller Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [IoT Device Rankings](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=iotDeviceReach) Resources [Blog](https://blog.pixalate.com/) [Press](https://www.pixalate.com/press) [Careers](https://www.pixalate.com/jobs) [Team](https://info.pixalate.com/pixalate-leadership-team) Contact Email [** sales@pixalate.com ](mailto:sales@pixalate.com) [** privacy@pixalate.com ](mailto:privacy@pixalate.com) US: [** +1 888 749 2528 ](tel:+1%20888%20749%202528) EU: [** +44 (0)800 011 2050 ](tel:+44%20(0)800%20011%202050) Slack: [Join ATSAPI Slack Channel ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email) Offices Global Offices US 1775 Greensboro Station Place, Suite 425, McLean, VA 22102 UK 20 North Audley Street London, W1K 6WE, United Kingdom EU 10 Earlsfort Terrace Dublin 2, D02 T380, Ireland Singapore 10 Anson Road, #22-02 International Plaza, Singapore 079903 [![facebook](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/facebook.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/pixalate) [![x](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/twitter-x.png) ](https://twitter.com/pixalateinc) [![linkedin](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/linkedin.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixalate) ![wechat](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/wechat.png) [![slack](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/slack.png) ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email) [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) [GDPR Compliance](https://www.pixalate.com/gdpr) Disclaimer Copyright © 2025 Pixalate [Back to top **](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/fortune-500-brands-ads-sberbank-russia-websites#) # Disclaimer Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects Pixalate’s opinions with respect to the factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Any proprietary data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate’s opinions are just that - opinion, not facts or guarantees. Per the MRC, “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes. Also per the MRC, “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic.” ** ** *By clicking Download and entering your email address, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and have read and acknowledge our [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/2024-08-20_Pixalate_Privacy_Policy.pdf). *Copyright © 2025 Pixalate** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * × ## Subscribe to the Pixalate Blog The first step in ad fraud prevention. Loading... By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy). ![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png) ##### Contact Us12 Loading... ![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png) ##### Download GSTI Loading... Schedule your demo today Please complete all fields Loading... By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy). * * * * *