VTB Bank’s top U.S.-based lobbyists were fired by President Joe Biden after the latest round sanctions on the Russian financial institution.

Sidley Austin was one of Washington’s most prominent lobbying companies. CNBC heard that the firm has ceased representing the bank since it took it on as a client back in 2015. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine this weekend, Biden’s Treasury Department sanctioned Sidley Austin’s bank.

In an email, a spokesperson stated that VTB Group was no longer a Sidley Austin LLP customer in accordance with U.S. Sanctions. Following its initial sanction in 2014, following Russia’s invasion of Crimea (a country within Ukraine), the U.S. continued to represent it with their government.

Sidley Austin is no longer represented in Washington. This means that he has lost a strong ally for VTB. He could have advocated to the U.S. government on behalf of the firm after the new sanctions. Forbes claims that the market cap of the bank was $8 billion last year.

The most recent of sanctions by the U.S. also took aim at executives with ties to VTB, including high-ranking officials Andrey Sergeyevich Puchkov and Yuriy Alekseyevich Soloviev, according to the Treasury Department.

The Center for Public Integrity was previously reportedSidley’s staff of lobbyists interacted with U.S. State Department officials and Congress members when it was initially representing the bank.

VTB Bank’s representative could not be reached for comment because its website crashed when trying to contact the bank.

VTB responded to U.S. sanctions with a statement Thursday.

VTB is one the Russian Federation’s backbone banks with an international presence and stable financial position. “Sanctions are a fact for us in the last few years. And another round of anti-Russian political sanctions was no surprise,” said a representative at that time.

According to the statement, “VTB is a reliable partner for millions customers, investors, and shareholders.”