Raiffeisen CEO calls lifting sanctions on Deripaska-linked company beneficial for EU

The head of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), Johann Strobl, believes that the proposed lifting of sanctions against the Russian company Raspedia Trading Limited, which is associated with Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska, is in the interests of the European Union, as it will allow one of the largest developers in the block, the Austrian company Strabag, to get rid of Russian shareholders. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to the statement of the bank's head.

"Rasperia is sitting on Strabag shares and 2.1 billion euros that are already in Russia. There is a way to change this," Strobl told reporters in Vienna .

This situation arose because in 2023, Raiffeisen Bank International, seeking to free up billions of euros locked up in its Russian subsidiary, tried to pull off a complex asset swap. The plan was to buy a stake (about 24.1%) in the Austrian construction company Strabag from the Russian company Raspedia Trading Limited. The deal fell through due to pressure from the US, which feared that the transaction could be used to circumvent sanctions.

After the deal was scrapped, Raspbery went to a Russian court to recover damages. The court ruled in its favor and ordered the payment of more than €2 billion in compensation. This money was forcibly debited from the accounts of the Russian Raiffeisenbank.

In fact, the RBI lost money in Russia, but from the Russian point of view, it gained a formal right to an asset located in Europe.

At the same time, the Russian court's decision is not directly enforceable in the European Union and the RBI cannot take physical control of the asset. Thus, the bank is in a situation where the money has already been lost in Russia, and the promised asset in Europe is not available.

Now the Austrian side is lobbying the EU to unfreeze these sanctioned shares of Strabag and transfer them to the RBI. This would partially compensate for the bank's losses, but such a proposal is being opposed by other countries that do not want to set a dangerous precedent for recognizing Russian court decisions.

However, Strobl noted that other EU member states have already helped their companies, such as Carlsberg and Danone, to solve their Russian problems.

The Russian unit is the most profitable for Raiffeisen Bank International, but due to capital controls, the bank cannot transfer dividends out of the country.

Even if the transfer of Strabag shares is approved under the EU sanctions package, Raiffeisen will still need permission from Russian regulators to pay these dividends in kind to Austria, Strobl said. According to him, if the deal is finalized, the bank is likely to sell its stake in Strabag.