Qatar poised to buy $3bn stake in VTB The Qataris are in advanced talks with VTB - which is listed in Russia and London - about injecting between $3bn (£1.9bn) and $3.5bn into the banking giant, according to sources. The structure of the deal, which may be announced next week, is likely to see VTB issue the Qataris with $1.5bn of new equity and $1.5bn of mandatory convertible bonds. Bankers from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are thought to be working with VTB on the capital raising. However, some sources warned that because the deal has not yet been signed, it could still fall apart. If Qatar completes the VTB transaction, it would follow a series of investments over the that last two years that has seen the wealthy gulf state snap up large shareholdings in mining giant Xstrata, French luxury goods company LVMH and French media company Lagardere, which publishes Paris Match and Elle. VTB is one of the biggest banks operating in Russia and also has a large office in the City of London. The bank's clients include Russian billionaires well-known in British circles. Indeed, earlier this month Bloomberg reported that one of Roman Abramovich's sons, Arkady Abramovich, had "passed a rigorous selection process and joined VTB Capital's internship program." The internship is taking place at the London office of VTB Capital, VTB's investment banking division. Sources said VTB - whose largest shareholder is the Russian government - has been looking for new investors since last summer in order to boost its core tier one capital position. The bank has had a tough time in recent years. Last year, VTB held talks with Russia's central bank over the company's inability to fund the loan growth necessary to sustain the country's broader economic expansion. Andrei Kostin, VTB chairman, was reported to have said that without a fresh supply of cheap money from the central bank - similar to the European Central Bank's three-year liquidity scheme - Russia's second-biggest bank by assets would struggle to hit lending targets. Qatar, which is staging the 2022 FIFA World Cup, showed its appetite for investing in banks during the financial crisis after it bought stakes in Credit Suisse and Barclays. The state derives its vast wealth from huge natural gas reserves and the sovereign wealth fund, which also owns 26pc of J Sainsbury, is responsible for diversifying the gulf emirate's huge pile of capital. Both VTB and Qatar declined to comment.