Due to sanction risk

RBI scraps Russia deal with Strabag

An expert on RBI's planned withdrawal from Russia: "The current possibilities of an exit are very limited."

(Bild: APA/Roland Schlager)

In order to further restrict its activities in Russia and extract frozen profits from the sanctioned country, Raiffeisen Bank International planned a controversial deal with Strabag. The bank wanted to buy 24.1 percent of the shares in the Austrian construction group Strabag from a non-sanctioned Russian investor. However, the deal has now fallen through.

The deal with Strabag was intended to enable the Raiffeisen Group to exit Russia: RBI had only announced in December that it wanted to acquire 28.5 million shares in Strabag worth more than one billion euros via its Russian subsidiary. The owner of the share package was the Russian MKAO Rasperia Trading, which was controlled by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Most recently, Rasperia was transferred to a Russian investor named Iliadis, who, according to the bank, is not subject to sanctions.

The Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska

(Bild: AFP)

Plans scrapped due to risk of sanctions
According to RBI's original plan, which has now been scrapped, the shares were to be acquired by the Russian subsidiary and then transferred to the parent company in Vienna as a dividend in kind.

The possible sanction risks are likely to have tipped the scales. "In recent exchanges with the relevant authorities, Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) was unable to obtain the necessary comfort to proceed with the planned transaction. The bank has decided to refrain from the transaction for reasons of prudence," the group announced on Wednesday. In fact, the pressure from the USA had recently become enormous.