By Lawrence White LONDON (Reuters) – Russia’s second-biggest bank VTB is closing the London-based arm of its investment banking unit VTB Capital, it said on Tuesday, as Western sanctions continue to throttle the international operations of Russia’s lenders. VTB Capital plc is “currently proceeding with an orderly wind-down of its positions and obligations,” the company said, having laid off some of its staff late last week. VTB’s announcement is the latest sign of how U.S., European and British sanctions are hitting Russian financial firms, after the country’s biggest lender Sberbank quit Euro…