"I'd leave tomorrow if I could": How Raiffeisen Plans to Speed Up Its Exit from Russia

Raiffeisen Bank International’s efforts to exit Russia could gain new momentum if it succeeds in collecting €3.15 billion ($3.5 billion) under a court ruling in its case against Rasperia Trading, said Raiffeisen Bank International CEO Michael Höllerer at a Bloomberg event in Vienna.

“We still have several more steps to take in this very complex process,” Bloomberg quotes Höllerer as saying. He noted that if these steps are completed successfully, it will give the bank “greater flexibility in its next steps toward exiting Russia.”

“If I had the chance to leave Russia tomorrow, I would do so,” the head of the credit institution continued (as quoted by Reuters). However, his main focus right now is on obtaining the court and regulatory approvals needed to recover compensation from Rasperia, Hellerer added.

Raiffeisen remains one of the few major Western banks that have maintained a presence in Russia since 2022. Although the bank has scaled back its operations in the country, attempts to sell its Russian division have not yet been successful: Raiffeisen has been unable to secure approval for the deal from the Russian, European Union, and U.S. authorities simultaneously. At the same time, a significant portion of the profits earned in Russia has effectively been frozen within the country. The deal with Rasperia—a company whose controlling shareholder was previously the sanctioned Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska—was precisely intended to allow Raiffeisen to repatriate a portion of its profits from Russia.

Raiffeisen’s Russian subsidiary was to purchase 28.5 million shares of the Austrian construction group Strabag from Rasperia for €1.51 billion (or the stake owned by Deripaska, who is subject to sanctions), and then transfer these shares to Raiffeisen’s parent company in Austria as a dividend. Thus, the deal would have simultaneously resolved the problems both companies faced after 2022, Bloomberg reported: Raiffeisen—to withdraw capital stuck in its Russian subsidiary—and Strabag—to rid itself of a sanctioned shareholder whose shares the company had been forced to freeze due to European sanctions.

However, in May 2024, Raiffeisen withdrew from the deal because it was unable to obtain sufficient assurances from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Austrian authorities that it complied with sanctions requirements. After these agreements fell through, a dispute arose between the companies, which was eventually taken to court. In January 2025, a Russian court ruled to recover €2 billion from Raiffeisen’s Russian subsidiary based on Rasperia’s claim and “to accept Strabag shares worth an equivalent amount onto the balance sheet in lieu of payment.” The bank called the decision unlawful and decided to seek compensation for its losses from Rasperia’s frozen assets in Austria.

Last month, a court in Vienna ordered Rasperia to pay Raiffeisen approximately €3.15 billion in compensation. This payment would be the first funds the Austrian bank has been able to receive—albeit indirectly—from its Russian subsidiary since sanctions made it impossible to withdraw excess profits from it, Bloomberg notes. However, Raiffeisen still needs to secure the release of Rasperia’s Austrian assets in order to collect the awarded compensation from the company. Since 2024, “Rasperia Trading Limited” (as it came to be known after re-registering in Russia) has also been subject to freezing sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the EU.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor