An Austrian civil court handed down a final decision on a damages claim that moves Raiffeisen closer to accessing a €3.2 billion payout connected to its Russian activities. The Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters determined the bank can assume possession of Rasperia Trading's assets, including a 24% stake in construction group Strabag SE and currently frozen dividends. Rasperia was previously linked to sanctioned tycoon Oleg Deripaska.
This Austrian case was brought after Russian courts ordered Raiffeisen's local subsidiary to transfer a total of €3.2 billion to Rasperia, a consequence of how Strabag implemented European Union sanctions. Under an EU mechanism, certain sanctioned holdings may be unlocked to make whole companies for penalties ordered by Russian courts.
The bank said in an email Thursday that it will ask Austrian authorities to allow the Strabag shares to be unfrozen so it can begin a sale and secure proceeds under the judgment. "Today has been a very important day for us," Chief Executive Officer Michael Hoellerer told investors in Vienna on Thursday. "We now have a final and legally binding judgment from an Austrian court. The task now is to take all the necessary steps so that we can ultimately realize its value."
Subject to approval by Austria's Financial Markets Authority, Raiffeisen could - perhaps using indirect routes - move money out of its Russian subsidiary for the first time since Vladimir Putin's full scale invasion began in 2022. Prior attempts to sell the unit or trade assets did not win regulatory support.
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Raiffeisen still runs the largest western owned bank in Russia, though it has cut back significantly and has built up billions of euros in profits that remain trapped there. Hoellerer said he will decide how to deploy any windfall only after the full access process is complete, with a likely mix of organic and inorganic growth spending alongside shareholder distributions, as he noted earlier this month during a Bloomberg event.
The bottom line: approval from Austria's regulator is the gating item. If granted, Raiffeisen gains a path to monetize the Strabag stake and, for the first time since 2022, pull capital out of Russia - a potential catalyst for capital returns and growth moves.
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