The head of a major Russian state-owned bank dismissed as nonsense reports that President Vladimir Putin is linked to as much as €2bn in offshore transactions allegedly involving people close to the Kremlin leader.

Russia won’t bail out people or companies that stand to lose money held at Cyprus’s two largest banks, first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov said.

Cyprus averted panic withdrawals as banks opened yesterday for the first time in almost two weeks, with government controls on access to cash leading to orderly lines rather than runs on deposits.