Original article (requires registration).
Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) maintains client relationships with companies supplying the Russian defence sector, revealing previously unknown dimensions of the bank’s involvement in Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine.
Bloomberg’s investigation shows that Raiffeisen’s Russian subsidiary earned more than $600,000 last year from providing payment and foreign exchange services to companies producing materials for Russian arms manufacturers. One such company, Russian chemical manufacturer Unichim, received payments into a Raiffeisen account after supplying acids for use in missile systems to a sanctioned company with close ties to the Russian navy.
Raiffeisen Bank International has repeatedly stated that it seeks to exit Russia and that its Russian unit has “implemented monitoring and screening tools to comply with… all applicable sanctions”. Bloomberg’s findings, however, underscore that the operational risks for companies still doing business in Russia have become nearly impossible to avoid. After reporting a drop in its annual profits for the first time in nine years following a US$ 2bn asset grab by a Russian court, RBI may now also find itself facing compliance-related risks over its client relationships in Russia.
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30 civil society organizations from Ukraine and abroad had previously raised a similar warning in an open letter to RBI’s CEO Johann Strobl in May 2023, cautioning that “Russia has made it next to impossible for foreign businesses to operate in the country without becoming directly complicit in Russia’s war efforts”. The open letter did not receive a response.
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Just to say it, but Raiffeisen was a German founder of cooperatives for farmers. Part of that was banking. That concept moved to Austria as well. The local Raiffeisen cooperatives ended up coming together to form a larger bank to serve large corporate Austrian clients with international banking services. Part of that was sold on the Austrian stock exchange to raise more capital. After the Iron Curtain fell, they moved strongly into the former Communist countries and also offered retail banking services.
In other words German Raiffeisen banks have nothing to do with this at all and are perfectly decent places to do business. In Austria itself you will deal mainly with the cooperatives, which only own part of the Raiffeisen Bank International. If you are in eastern Europe then this is the bank you are dealing with.
TL;DR: There are more then one bank called Raiffeisen and most of them are perfectly fine places to do business.
very Austrian Bank thing to do
A few months ago, I’ve finally managed to move my salary payments from Raiffeisen to another bank’s card. I congratulate myself on it twice a month, on every payment.
I congratulate you, too :-)
I’m kinda surprised they’d do this. The cost/benefit analysis is lousy. $600,000 isn’t worth the reputation for aiding an unjust tragedy.
Hardly the first instance of a bank violating rules to keep making money. I guess it’s going to come down to a little slap on the wrist and then they’re going to use a different loophole to keep the money flowing.
For Austria it goes further than this.
Half of Austria is aAustria is infected with a lot of russian influence. Austrian intelligence helped to smuggle the former wirecardCEOCFO and criminal wanted for defrauding billions to Russia.There was a trap laid for Austrian fascist politicians of the now strongest FPÖ party where they openly discussed funneling government contracts to a fake Russian oligarch in return for buying and controlling mayor media outlets.
A former Austrian Foreign minister had the Russian military fly her ponies to her new residence in Russia, while the Ukraine war was already in full effect.
https://apnews.com/article/austria-spying-scandal-russia-ott-marsalek-wirecard-8921f3ce95b30646ee1952bf8949a43f
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibiza_affair
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66795596If you made a movie with Austria as the cartoon villian on the inside, people would claim it to be unrealistic.
Wow, TIL. Thanks for the information.
Please be careful when saying things like “half of Austria is a proxy of Russia”. We should not pigeonhole half a country.
[Regarding the Wirecard case: You might refer to the former Wirecard CFO Jan Marsalek, who was/is an alleged Russian spy and is now wanted by Western authorities. Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun has been arrested in 2020 with court cases pending.]
Thak you. I have edited the statements.
👍
