Raiffeisenbank Russia Fails in Appeal Against Multi-Billion Payment

The Raiffeisenbank subsidiary in Russia faced a setback on Tuesday as its extraordinary legal appeal to postpone a billion-euro payment to Rasperia Trading Limited, a shareholder of Strabag, was unsuccessful. This decision came after a lower court ruling was upheld by an appellate court in St. Petersburg last Thursday, rendering the judgment final.

In addition to seeking a revision, the Russian branch of Raiffeisenbank filed a motion with the Northwest Commercial Court in St. Petersburg on Friday to suspend the enforcement of the initial ruling during the appeal process. However, this request was also denied on Tuesday, according to the official Russian court registry.

According to a spokesperson for the Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), the bank is eager to avoid any enforcement proceedings and intends to pay the legally mandated compensation of EUR2.044 billion, plus interest, to Rasperia promptly. The spokesperson indicated that a transfer was anticipated within a very short timeframe following the rejection of the postponement request.

The court's ruling also stipulates that Raiffeisenbank will acquire shares in Strabag from Rasperia. The legal proceedings stem from a lawsuit filed by Rasperia against Strabag, its Austrian co-shareholders in the construction company, and Raiffeisenbank Russia. Rasperia, previously controlled by oligarch Oleg Deripaska, had its power diminished within Strabag due to EU sanctions and sought recourse through a Russian commercial court last August, a jurisdiction that the Austrian defendants contested.

Raiffeisenbank was implicated in the lawsuit primarily due to its connection to Raiffeisen-Holding Niederösterreich-Wien, which owns a 25 percent stake in the parent company of Raiffeisenbank Russia. As the only defendant with significant assets, the outcomes of Russian court rulings were of particular relevance to the bank. A court in Kaliningrad had previously issued a preliminary injunction in September, preventing any potential change of ownership for the bank.

Last week, RBI hoped that this injunction could be lifted following the payment of damages.