RBI subsidiary fights a ban on sales-Diepresse.com

As part of a Russian court proceedings, the second and last tranche of around two billion euros in damages with interest at the end of May was collected from an account of Raiffeisenbank Russia and transferred to the Russian Strabag shareholder Rasperia, as a spokesman for the parent company RBI informed. A ban on sale for the bank issued in September 2024 continues to apply and is fought by it in court.

On Monday, the Raiffeisenbank Russia again submitted the application to the Northwest Russia Commercial Court, based in St. Petersburg, on September 4, 2024 to be lifted by the Kaliningrad Commerce Court, which the bank has banned from changing owners since then. According to the Russian court register, the Petersburg court began to deal with this application on Wednesday, and a time for a decision was not mentioned.

Last week, Raiffeisenbank Russia had completely failed with the same application to the same court: The responsible judge had decided to reject this application for formal reasons, since the court act had already been requested by her court in mid -May, but was not yet there.

1.87 billion plus 174 million euros from the correspondence account moved in to the Russian central bank

The background to the Causa is a lawsuit by the Russian Strabag shareholder Rasperia against Strabag, Austrian co-shares in the construction group and the Raiffeisenbank Russia. The Russian company, which was officially controlled by Olegarchen Oleg Deripaska, at least in the past, was disempowered in connection with EU sanctions in the Austrian construction group and lasted to the Kaliningrad Commercial Court last August, the responsibility of which the Austrian defendants viewed.

Nevertheless, the court in Kaliningrad decided in January and at the end of April the appellate court in St. Petersburg also confirmed the legality of Rasperia’s demands. At the end of April, 1.87 billion euros were finally drawn in damages and at the end of May 174 million euros interest from the correspondence account of the defendant Raiffeisenbank Russia with the Russian central bank and at the same time declared the property of the RBI subsidiary on a questionable legal basis on a questionable legal basis. Russian judgments have no binding effect in Austria, in particular this also applies to the ordered share transmission.

RBI prepares steps in Austria

The Russian Raiffeisenbank had only been sued by Rasperia because it is in a relationship with Strabag shareholder Raiffeisen-Holding Lower Austria. The latter is the owner of the Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, which in turn holds 25 percent at the parent company of Raiffeisenbank Russia, RBI. Since the defendant ultimately only has the RBI subsidiary in Russia, Russian court decisions were only of economic relevance for the bank. In view of the considerations of the parent company to sell the Russian subsidiary bench, this was particularly important for the sometimes existing ban on sales.

Legal steps in Austria, which RBI could enable access to Rasperia assets as part of the EU sanction law, have not yet been initiated. « RBI is still in preparation here, » said an RBI spokesman on APA. (APA)