Ukraine Refuses To Take Raiffeisen Off Russia War Blacklist

Ukraine has refused to remove Raiffeisen Bank International from a "sponsors of war" blacklist, challenging the biggest Western bank in Russia to sever its ties to Moscow, Tom Balmforth and John O’Donnell reported for Reuters.

Ukrainian officials questioned what the bank was doing to leave Russia, saying much of its plans were vague and incomplete. I Photo: M. Schreiber Wikimedia Commons

In a letter sent to Raiffeisen earlier this month, which was seen by Reuters, Ukrainian officials questioned what the bank was doing to leave Russia, saying much of its plans were vague and incomplete.

The correspondence ratchets up pressure on one of Austria's largest banks and adds to tensions between Kyiv and Austria, whose political leaders are also lobbying to have Raiffeisen taken off the list, having earlier secured a temporary suspension. 

The blacklist has no legal standing, but it is symbolically important and has embarrassed Raiffeisen and angered Austrian politicians and officials. The Ukrainian officials also flagged their concern in the letter over Raiffeisen's loan relief schemes for Russian soldiers, support the bank has said is legally mandatory in Russia.

"A number of blind spots still remain," the Ukraine officials wrote in the letter, saying this prevented the bank's removal from the list.

"The sale timeline is missing ... it remains unclear when, if at all, a spin-off scenario might come into action," the Ukraine officials said in the letter.

Raiffeisen had intended to spin off its Russian business last year but this has yet to happen. A Raiffeisen spokesperson said the bank could not give a timeframe for leaving Russia because this depended on the approval of regulators.

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