Austria's Raiffeisen completes damages payment to Russia

VIENNA (Reuters) -Raiffeisen Bank International said on Thursday that Russia's central bank had debited 174 million euros ($199 million) from the Austrian lender's account to complete the payment of damages imposed by Russia.

The payment of interests, which completes the transfer of the more than 2 billion euros in damages due, has previously been seen as a key step in the struggle for Russian regulatory clearance of Raiffeisen's plans to sell its Russian subsidiary.

Last year, the bank came under intense pressure from the United States as well as European regulators to pare its ties to Russia, something it is in the process of doing.

The lender has been working on a sale of its Russian subsidiary for more than three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's central bank had previously taken almost 1.9 billion euros from the lender to settle a court dispute in Russia.

Earlier this year, a Russian court awarded more than 2 billion euros of damages against RBI in a dispute that erupted after an unsuccessful attempt to unlock some of the bank's frozen billions in Russia.

($1 = 0.8839 euros)

(Reporting by Alexanda Schwarz-GoerlichWriting by Ludwig BurgerEditing by Miranda Murray)