Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement Fund lost $3M in selling investment inRussian bank

The Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System lost more than $3 million last week in selling off its direct investment in a Russian bank the day before Russia invaded Ukraine, the pension fund said in a statement Friday.

The retirement system had invested $15.6 million in Russia’s Sberbank, beginning in March 2017, and sold its shares for $12.4 million on Feb. 23, the statement said.

Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, saw its shares fall 95 percent this week after the bank announced it was pulling out of the European market. That announcement came as the U.S. and its allies have increased sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, roiling the Russian economy.

The retirement system issued its statement after social media reports surfaced that it was the “second-largest shareholder” of Sberbank and that its investment had been reduced to less than $1 million