#Raiffeisen Bank International was warned by the #US Treasury in writing that its access to the U.S. financial system could be curbed because of its #Russia dealings, according to a person who has seen the correspondence.
While the deal linked to Oleg #Deripaska was ditched by Raiffeisen days after the letter arrived, the source said that the U.S. Treasury's concerns over the Austrian bank's business in Russia remain.
The largest western banks that remain in #Russia paid the #Kremlin more than €800mn of taxes last year, a fourfold increase on prewar levels, despite promises to minimise their Russian exposure after the full-scale invasion of #Ukraine.
The seven top European banks by assets in Russia — #Raiffeisen Bank International, #UniCredit, #ING, #Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and OTP — reported a combined profit of more than €3bn in 2023.
The European Parliament sent a letter on April 25 to #Austria's leaders, urging them to compel #Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) to cease its activities in #Russia in compliance with #EU sanctions.
The #Vienna-based bank group, the largest remaining Western bank in Russia, has been under increasing pressure since the start of the all-out war to scale down its activities in the country.
#Washington is tightening the screws on the last remaining banks in #Europe still doing business with #Russia.
The Treasury's top sanctions enforcement official, Acting Assistant Secretary Anna #Morris, met in #Vienna on Friday with Austrian officials and representatives of #Raiffeisen Bank International to explain the bank risks being shut out of the #US financial system if it doesn't distance itself more clearly from Russia's war economy.
"#Austria has given its approval to a 12th package of #EU sanctions on #Russia after #Ukraine removed #Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI) from a blacklist, Ukraine's government website and an EU diplomat said on Saturday.
The blacklist has no legal standing, but it is symbolically important, reinforcing public pressure on Raiffeisen to leave Russia."
Austria blocks 12th EU sanctions package due to #Raiffeisen Bank being on list of war sponsors.
Raiffeisen is one of the few European banks that continue to operate in Russia, and the bank has benefited by 200% from the sanctions that have led to the withdrawal of its competitors from the Russian market.
Already last year, #Raiffeisen paid more than half a billion euros to the Russian state, substantially financing Russia's war of aggression against #Ukraine. #Austria
Bereits letztes Jahr hat #Raiffeisen mehr als eine halbe Milliarde Euro Steuern an Russland gezahlt und damit dessen Angriffskrieg finanziell beträchtlich unterstützt. #Österreich
#Raiffeisen Bank, the biggest Western bank still operating in russia gave its employees an extra $220 million over the last 6 months. That's an average of $24,000 per employee
🔹 The #Austrian bank spent $220 million more in staff costs for the russian market in the first half of 2023.
🔹 The bump was due to higher salaries and social security costs, one-off payments, and increased headcount.
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The Austrian #Raiffeisen Bank International will pay an additional €100 million in new russian excess-profits tax. Even without this tax, Raiffeisen Bank paid €559 million in taxes in russia in 2022 - funds that were used to support the killing of Ukrainians. The excess profits of the bank in russia are growing each year, and so too are Raiffeisen’s benefits from this war.
Die Mitteilung vom Stichtag 2022-12-31 wurde mit "Wien, im März 2023" ausgedruckt & kam heute(!) per Post an. Trauten sich wohl bislang nicht, das Fiasko zuzugeben ... 🤷
Schlussgag: auf der bunten Beilage steht: "Bei Valida ist ihr Geld sicher!" Die haben eine Kapitalgarantie, die nun schlagend wird.