Raiffeisen Bank International services
The Russian branch of this Austrian bank obtained 62 million rubles ($ 620,000) income in exchange for its services, which was used by, among others Russian Chemical Przedsiębiorstwo producing products for the Russian arms industry – Bloomberg donated after getting acquainted with accounts.
“RBI has introduced monitoring and checking systems to ensure that all transactions and business activities are in line with applicable sanctions,” a spokesman for the bank answered.
Officials of one of the European countries who got acquainted with the bank’s documents admitted that Raiffeisen almost certainly has more clients providing components needed for the production of military equipment used by the Russians in Ukraine.
Last year, the Russian branch of Raiffeisen generated over a billion dollars of profits in the first three quarters – Bloomberg noted. He noted that this is almost half of the profits of the entire Raiffeisen bank and twice as much as what he managed to earn in the two years preceding the invasion. In the first nine months of 2024, RBI paid a total of 277 million euros in taxes to the Russian Treasury.
Raiffeisen has already tried to get some of the profits from Russia, but EBC did not agree
Despite the good results of the Russian branch of Austrian Bank Bank Bank in Vienna, there is no access to this money, because they cannot leave Russian accounts. According to Russian law, a branch in Russia is a company’s enterprise, which is why it is subject to control of the Central Bank of Russia. Raiffeisen He has already tried to get some of the profits from Russia, but then the European Central Bank did not agree to such a move.
Many Western financial institutions withdrew from Russia when Moscow began a full -size invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Raiffeisen decided to stay.
A key institution for Russia
The Russian branch of the RBI is considered by Moscow as a key financial institution that gives Russia access to foreign currencies. Therefore, according to Bloomberg, the Kremlin will not let Raiffeisen leave the Russian market because it is This is one of the last Western banks still operating in Russia. A special commission must be approved by the consent to leave Russia, and the last word belongs to Vladimir Putin.
Official documents
One of the enterprises listed by Bloomberg is Unichi, which provides chemicals for the arms company, the ravity of Western sanctions, producing, among others Easter bombs used by the Russians in Ukraine to a large extent to terrorize civilians. In addition, the documents obtained by Bloomberg shows that Unichi also traded with the proletarskij Zakłady Przych, belonging to United Shipbuilding Corp., a state holding building for a Russian jacket.
In the first half of 2024, Raiffeisen released 17.8 million Chinese yuan ($ 2.5 million) to Unichi. The bank also served 17 other international transactions – the agency donated, citing official documents of the Austrian bank.
Russia does everything to avoid sanctions, which is why in time China became a key supplier of raw materials and materials for industry, including war. Bloomberg pointed out that the Unichimu transactions in Juany may indicate that the company was doing business in China.
Bloomberg estimated that Raiffeisen is counting on the fact that with the possible suspension of the weapon, the sanction regime will be softened and then the bank will be able to transfer money earned by the Russian branch to the Bank headquarters in Vienna, where these funds would not be subject to Russian law and possible sanctions. (PAP)