US threatens Raiffeisen Bank with sanctions over Russia ties
11:48 AM EST, March 9, 2024
According to euobserver.com, the U.S. Treasury Department has specifically targeted the Austrian bank Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) with the possibility of sanctions if it continues its business endeavors in Russia. The Treasury stressed that RBI's continued financial support to the Russian military could lead to its exclusion from the American financial system.
US stipulates conditions for banks
A high-ranking official from the Treasury Department, Anna Morris, traveled to Vienna to address this matter. During her visit on Thursday and Friday, she engaged in discussions with both the Austrian government and RBI’s management.
RBI declined to comment on these discussions to euobserver.com, stating it does not disclose conversations with government authorities publicly.
The Ukrainian National Agency for Preventing Corruption (NACP) previously categorized RBI as an international "sponsor of war." However, an RBI spokesperson expressed on Friday the bank's desire to continue dialogues with NACP to be removed from this list.
Raiffeisen's Russian branch, RBRU, participated in a program offering credit holidays to Russian draftees, initiated by Russia. Addressing inquiries from euobserver.com, the bank mentioned its obligation to adhere to Russian legal requirements.
The list of notoriety: European banks’ operations in Russia
RBI is among the eight prominent European banks active in Russia. As noted by euobserver.com, this list includes Dutch lender ING, Germany's Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank, Hungary's OTP Bank, Italy's Intesa SanPaolo and UniCredit, as well as Sweden's SEB.
OTP Bank, also labeled as a war sponsor by Ukraine, saw its profits in Russia surge by 125% in 2023. With 82 branches in Russia and a workforce of 2,018, the bank also engaged in the credit holiday program for Russian draftees, according to reports by euobserver.com.
The US Treasury Department has not commented on whether Anna Morris might engage with OTP Bank in Budapest in the future. Similarly, OTP Bank has yet to respond to inquiries from the media outlet.
