Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleRaiffeisen Bank's sale of its Russian subsidiary is blocked by a court, linked to a lawsuit from Rasperia, affecting foreign investment in Russia.
VIENNA (Reuters) -Raiffeisen Bank International said on Wednesday a Russian court had rejected its bid to lift an injunction banning the sale of its local subsidiary, frustrating efforts by the biggest Western bank still operating in Russia to exit the country.
The ban is tied to a lawsuit brought by Russian investment firm Rasperia after a collapsed deal in which RBI was ordered last year to pay 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in damages.
RBI said in an emailed statement to Reuters it considered those proceedings completed and that the damages had been collected in full by the Russian central bank.
"Nevertheless, the court has made an unprecedented decision to extend them," RBI said.
Payment of the fine had previously been seen as a key step in the struggle for Russian regulatory clearance of Raiffeisen's plans to sell its Russian subsidiary.
The bank's dispute with Rasperia followed the failure of a deal that RBI hoped would allow it to unlock some of its frozen assets in Russia. RBI had sought to buy a stake in Vienna-based construction company Strabag, but pulled out under pressure from Washington.
Anastasia Taradankina, a lawyer for Raiffeisen's Russian subsidiary from Russian law firm Delcredere, said there were no legal grounds to maintain the sale ban.
The court's decision on the opening day of Russia's premier economic forum in St. Petersburg may send a bad signal about Russia's investment climate and the legal footing of foreign companies in Russia, Taradankina said.
"The court ... showed that even in the absence of financial claims, it is possible to block company assets worth more than half a trillion roubles," Taradankina said.
($1 = 0.8682 euros)
(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich and Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Rod Nickel)
A Russian court rejected Raiffeisen Bank International's bid to lift an injunction banning the sale of its local subsidiary.
The ban is tied to a lawsuit brought by Russian investment firm Rasperia following a collapsed deal, which resulted in RBI being ordered to pay 2 billion euros in damages.
The court's decision may send a negative signal regarding Russia's investment climate and the legal standing of foreign companies operating in the country.
Raiffeisen Bank stated that it considered the lawsuit proceedings completed and that the damages had been fully collected by the Russian central bank.
Anastasia Taradankina, a lawyer for Raiffeisen's Russian subsidiary, stated that there were no legal grounds to maintain the sale ban.
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