The Kaliningrad Regional Arbitration Court granted the lawsuit filed by MKAO “Rasperia Trading Limited” against Raiffeisenbank, Strabag SE, Raiffeisen-Holding Niederösterreich-Wien, and several other foreign defendants, awarding €2 billion ($2.1 billion) in damages on Monday.
Both Raiffeisen Bank and Strabag are subsidiaries of Austrian companies in Russia that are still operating despite the massive withdrawal of western companies from the Russian market in response to sanctions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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According to the court’s ruling, this amount may be recovered from the assets of the Russian branch of Raiffeisen Bank International, according to Reuters and the Moscow Times.
Reuters categorized the ruling as “one of the largest awards of damages yet,” but Raiffeisen (RBI) said it would appeal the judgment.
Russia’s subsidiary told The Moscow Times the court’s decision would not affect its financial stability.
“The bank is fully prepared for any developments, with significant liquidity and capital reserves. Therefore, this decision does not impact the bank’s operational activities, financial stability, or the interests of our clients,” Raiffeisen’s Russian press service.
According to Reuters: “The bank stated that it would also need to allocate a provision in last year’s financial statements to help cover the €2 billion damages award.”
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What’s the problem with a lawsuit against the Austria’s bank
A lawyer representing Raiffeisen Bank, speaking to Reuters, questioned the legality of the lawsuit.
“This lawsuit, with a huge number of gross violations, is an attempt to force the sale of blocked assets through a Russian court,” Andrei Timchuk, partner at Delcredere, Raiffeisen Bank’s representative, said.
Among the violations, Timchuk told Reuters about the limited evidence and file petitions presented, as well as limited ability for the defendants to speak. The court could not be reached by phone and did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment, the media outlet wrote.
“The court hearing was attended by unidentified armed people in balaclavas, whom the court sat next to the defendant with the obvious goal of exerting additional pressure,” Timchuk said.
The plaintiff, Rasperia Trading Limited, is identified by the US as part of a group of Russian companies still controlled by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska. A spokesperson for Deripaska claimed on Monday that he had no links with the company.
The legal dispute followed the failure of an earlier deal that Raiffeisen hoped would allow it to unlock some of its frozen billions in Russia. The case was centred on a claim by Russian investment company Rasperia against builder Strabag, its Austrian shareholders and the Russian arm of Raiffeisen.
In 2023, RBI announced that Raiffeisen bank would purchase a 24.1% stake in the Austrian construction giant Strabag, frozen at the time due to sanctions, from Rasperia for €1.5 billion ($1.635 billion), The Moscow Times wrote.
Three years after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Raiffeisen has denied leaving the market despite open statements with such an intention. The key reasons are the links between the heads of the bank and Austrian pro-Russian politicians, and profits the bank was unwilling to lose.
Reuters reported Raiffeisen “had earned around €6 billion ($6.29 billion) in Russia from international payments and Russian deposits.”
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