Sofia Sool and Oleg Desh, a golden couple of investment banking in Moscow, have quit their posts at UBS and VTB Capital to move to London, as sanctions and a crash in commodities accelerate a capital markets brain drain from Russia.

Sool has left her position as co-head of investment banking for UBS in Russia and relocated to London to run wealth management for central and eastern Europe from September 1, according to an internal memo confirmed by the bank.