(Bloomberg) -- A portion of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Russia staff is relocating out of the country as firms react to a global effort to shut off the Russian economy after the invasion of Ukraine.

The Wall Street powerhouse is shifting some of its Moscow-based staff to Dubai, a key financial hub in the Middle East, according to people with knowledge of the matter, asking not to be identified discussing personnel moves. The relocation is being driven by its staff seeking to work from a different location, one of the people said. 

International firms have been reassessing their Russian operations as the country’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second week. Russia has been hit with crippling international sanctions that have left its economy reeling -- the result of a co-ordinated global effort to isolate the Kremlin following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine.

A representative for Goldman Sachs declined to comment. The move is not intended to be permanent as of now, one of the people said.

Dubai is seen as one of the few key cities in the world whose government has warm ties with the Kremlin. The United Arab Emirates, which is home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, abstained in a U.N. Security Council vote at the end of February condemning Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It is also chair of the Security Council.

The energy-rich UAE relies on Russian and Ukrainian wheat exports and is home to roughly 8 million foreign residents and 1 million Emirati citizens.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted several global banks to cut their exposure to Putin’s regime. Goldman Sachs has maintained a presence in Russia but the country doesn’t amount to a meaningful portion of its global banking business.

At the end of 2021, the bank’s total credit exposure to Russia was $650 million, most of which was tied to non-sovereign counterparties or borrowers, it said in a regulatory filing last month.

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