FT: EU wants to give Deripaska's frozen assets to Raiffeisen to compensate for losses in Russia

European Union discusses lifting sanctions on assets linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to compensate the Austrian bank Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) losses of EUR 2 billion. About writes Financial Times, citing European officials.

According to the newspaper's sources, unblocking the frozen shares of the Austrian construction company Strabag, whose owner is linked to Deripaska, is included in the latest draft of the EU sanctions package.

The decision is explained by the fact that the Russian court ordered to recover 2 billion euros from the RBI as compensation for damages to the Russian co-owner of the Vienna-based Strabag company, Raspberia.

The Russian court also ruled to transfer Strabag shares to an Austrian bank. But since they are under EU sanctions, it is currently impossible to implement this decision.

At the same time, some European officials fear that this step will legitimize the decisions of Russian courts and provide other oligarchs with a tool to regain access to their assets through lawsuits against Western companies.

The proposal was initiated by Austria. But, according to the newspaper, several EU member states plan to oppose it at a meeting of ambassadors scheduled for Friday, October 3.

Raiffeisen is the largest Western bank that has remained in Russia since the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine.

It has tried to reduce its presence in the country, but Russian regulators are blocking its exit, as the bank remains one of the few channels for Russia's access to the SWIFT international payment system.

In December 2023, the RBI announced its intention to buy a stake in Vienna-based Strabag for EUR 1.5 billion in Russian Raspberia, which Strabag linked to a Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

In May 2024, the United States identified Raspbery as part of a group of Russian companies still controlled by Deripaska when it imposed sanctions on some of them.

For fear of negative reaction from the United States, RBI refused to acquire a stake in Strabag.

• On March 27, 2024, it was reported that Deripaska sold Raspberia to a Moscow company and lost indirect control over Strabag.
• On September 6, 2024, it became known that the Russian court blocked any potential sale of Raiffeisen shares in Russia.