Ukraine Has Suspended the Sponsor Status of the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank in the War

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine has removed the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank from the list of war-sponsoring companies in exchange for Austria lifting its veto on the 12th EU sanctions package against Russia. Raiffeisen Bank continues to operate and pay taxes in Russia.

This information is provided on the official website of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.

Austria's request was for Raiffeisen Bank International, the largest Western bank in Russia, to be completely excluded from the Ukrainian list of companies sponsoring the Russian war in Ukraine, including paying taxes to the Russian budget.

Despite the fact that the list of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention does not currently entail legal responsibility, being included in it damages the good standing of companies, warning current and potential partners about the values and principles that business sponsors of war adhere to.

According to Reuters, after Raiffeisen Bank's status as a war sponsor was suspended, Austria decided to approve the 12th EU sanctions package against Russia.

It is worth noting that Raiffeisen promised to exit the Russian market immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, the bank has repeatedly postponed the date of cessation of operations in Russia. Earlier, it was announced that the bank planned to exit Russia by December 31, but later, such a step was called unlikely.

In March 2023, the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption included the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International in the list of international sponsors of war.

According to the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, in 2022, Raiffeisen Bank paid 559 million euros in taxes to the Russian budget. This is 4.8 times more than for the entire pre-war year.

It is worth reminding that the European Union is currently working on the joint approval of the 12th package of sanctions against Russia. It is expected that the document will be approved by the end of this year.

In particular, the sanctions package will include a ban on the supply of machine tools to Russia, which could likely be used for the production of weapons. Also, the European Union wants to impose a ban on the import of liquefied propane, iron, copper and aluminum wire, foil, and pipes.

In addition, one of the key points of the new package is the embargo on Russian diamonds and the gradual introduction of a complete ban on the import of Russian diamonds that have been processed in third countries.