Raiffeisen and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
In January 2023, U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control became interested in Raiffeisen's Russian business. Raiffeisen is one of the few large international banks that did not wind down its business after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russian division of Raiffeisen has the status of a systemically important bank, ranks second in terms of net profit and provides half of the group's net profit (4,2 billion Euros).[22] OFAC sent a request to the bank to "clarify" the bank's business activity in Russia in the light of recent events. Raiffeisen promised to answer questions in several stages during April–June 2023.[23]
In March 2023, Raiffeisen was named an international sponsor of war by Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention.[24] In December 2023, Ukraine excluded Raiffeisen Bank from the list of war sponsors for the 12th package of EU sanctions against Russia.
As of October 2023, Raiffeisen Bank has not left the Russian market. Under pressure from the Ukrainian government and its allied countries, the Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has changed its rhetoric. The RBI Group will continue to progress potential transactions which would result in the sale or spin-off of Raiffeisenbank Russia and deconsolidation of Raiffeisenbank Russia from the RBI Group, in full compliance with local and international laws and regulation and in consultation with the relevant competent authorities. RBI also states, that in case of a sale or a spin-off, the CET1-Ratio of RBI Group would stay robust.[25]
Western banks are struggling to leave Russia. According to the Financial Times, banks such as JSC Raiffeisenbank, JSC UniCredit Bank, JSC Commercial Bank Citibank, and others are still operating in Russia.[26] The majority of banks stopped further investments in their Russian subsidiaries. However, it is worth noting that Société Générale was able to leave Russia and sell its assets to Rosbank. That resulted in an estimated loss for the bank of 3.3 billion euros.[27]
On the 7th of April, according to a publication in the Russian media,[28] the Russian branch of RBI stopped issuing new cards with the package “salary”. The official bank comment was that this decision was based on “the market analysis”. However, this could also be a result of the change in rhetoric and statement about reduction of services made earlier.
The next day, the National Bank of Ukraine released a statement commenting on the RBI press release. The NBU pointed out that they see a positive shift in the rhetoric, however, they also acknowledge the lack of a specific plan that will further reduce RBI operations and presence in Russia and lead to the spin-off. On the other hand, the NBU pointed out the systematic contribution of RBI’s subsidiary in Ukraine - Raiffeisen Bank Aval JSC, to the country's financial stability during the raging war.
According to Reuters, one of the senior Raiffeisen executives said that they are negotiating a selling deal for the Russian branch with two potential buyers. However, the spin-off itself could take up to seven months.
Austria had wanted Raiffeisen Bank International removed from the Ukraine blacklist in return for signing off on the latest EU sanctions package against Russia.[29] The bank was "suspended" from the list but Ukraine refused to remove it completely unless it hears more "positive news".
Austrian officials say Raiffeisen has been treated unfairly when other banks, such as Italy's UniCredit, remains active in Russia but does not appear on the list of sponsors of war.[30]
On 7 March 2024, the US Treasury Department stated it was to meet Raiffeisen to warn they "risk being cut off from the U.S. financial system".[31]
In March 2025, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project[32] and Der Standard[33] reported Raiffeisen had sent about $10 billion worth of euros and US dollars, in cash, to Russia in the weeks leading to the 2022 invasion, including several shipments arriving after the invasion had begun.
In December 2025, it was reported that the Austrian government proposed to unfreeze the assets of a sanctioned Russian company Rasperia, to help Raiffeisen offset their $2.1 billion write off.[34]
