Skip to content
Edit post

Reuters: US sanctions authority examining Austrian bank's ties to Russia

by The Kyiv Independent news desk February 18, 2023 2:32 PM 1 min read
The logo of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is pictured above the entrance of the bank's headquarters building on Feb. 1, 2023 in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by Heinz-Peter Bader/Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

Reuters reported on Feb. 18 that the Austrian bank Raiffeisen is being investigated by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for its activities in Russia.

Representatives from the bank confirmed to Reuters that the OFAC had contacted it in January 2023 to seek clarification on its payments business and related processes, in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The OFAC requested a reply by February 2023 but the bank's lawyers have negotiated a push back, with information tranches to be sent in early April, May, and June.

Raiffeisen, the second-largest bank lender in Austria, is highly involved in Russia's financial system and is among just two foreign banks considered "systemically important" by the Russian central bank, emphasizing its significance to Russia's economy amid extensive Western sanctions. The bank has continued doing business in Russia following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The bank's 3.8 billion euros net profit last year included 2 billion euros from Russia, and Russians have put more than 20 billion euros with the bank.

The bank said in its statement to Reuters that it is cooperating fully with the OFAC.

Reuters: US to warn companies against evading Russia sanctions
Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
5:30 AM

Ukrainian POWs faced conditional release from Hungary.

Two Ukrainian prisoners of war, part of a group of 11 handed over to Hungary by Russia in June 2023, said in an interview to Deutsche Welle, that Hungarian representatives imposed conditions preventing their return to Ukraine until the war's end.
3:16 AM

Estonian police arrest citizen who reported for Russian state media.

Estonian police have arrested Svetlana Burceva, an Estonian citizen, for allegedly violating international sanctions having served as a reporter for Russian state sponsored Balt News - an arm of the Kremlin-run Russia Today (RT) news outlet, Estonian publication Eesti Ekspress reported on March 27.
9:03 PM

Prague sanctions Medvedchuk over 'influence operations' in Czechia, EU.

Fiala said that Viktor Medvedchuk and another sanction individual, Ukrainian-Israeli pro-Kremlin propagandist Artem Marchevskyi, "oversaw several influence operations and networks from the Russian Federation" and sought to influence social discourse in Czechia through the Voice of Europe organization, which was also placed on the sanctions list.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.