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Austrian Court Grants Raiffeisen €3.2 Billion Win in High-Stakes Battle Over Russian Assets
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An Austrian court has ruled in favor of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), allowing the institution to secure roughly €3.2 billion ($3.58 billion) in damages from Rasperia Trading . The firm was previously owned by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
The decision represents the first case since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine where a Western bank could indirectly recover funds connected to Russia, according to Bloomberg on October 22.
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RBI Chief Executive Officer Michael Hellerer announced at an investment conference in Vienna that the ruling is final and legally binding.
The case traces back to 2023, when RBI and Deripaska attempted an asset swap involving assets in Austria and Russia. Under the proposed arrangement, RBI’s Russian subsidiary was to acquire a 24% stake in Austrian construction firm Strabag from Rasperia Trading and transfer the shares to the Austrian parent company as dividends.
The plan was intended to help RBI bypass restrictions imposed by Moscow that prevent Western entities from transferring profits earned in Russia back to Europe, Bloomberg reported. However, the transaction collapsed under pressure from US authorities due to long-standing sanctions against Deripaska that have been in place since 2018.
Following the collapse of the deal, Rasperia—which Deripaska had transferred to businessman Dmitry Beloglazov—pursued compensation through Russian courts. Those proceedings forced RBI’s Russian division to pay more than €2 billion ($2.24 billion).
In response, RBI utilized a European Union legal framework designed to help European businesses recover damages resulting from decisions made by Russian courts or authorities in connection with sanctions. The bank filed a lawsuit in Austria demanding compensation for the financial losses incurred in Russia.
With the final court ruling secured, RBI plans to request that Austrian regulatory authorities unfreeze Rasperia’s blocked assets, which include the 24% stake in Strabag alongside accumulated dividends. Once the assets are unfrozen, RBI intends to sell the Strabag shares and collect the proceeds, as reported by Bloomberg.
The total value of the stock and accumulated dividends is expected to reach approximately €3.2 billion ($3.58 billion). While Austria previously requested EU approval to unfreeze the assets to complete the original asset swap, those negotiations did not lead to a regulatory exception, leaving the legal compensation pathway as RBI's remaining option to recover its funds.
Oleg Deripaska is a prominent Russian industrial billionaire and founder of the industrial group Basic Element, who maintains close ties to the Kremlin. He has been placed under extensive international sanctions by the United States, the European Union, and Ukraine for supporting Russia’s military aggression and benefiting from state-sponsored economic activities.
Earlier, it was reported that chemical plants connected to some of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires have been found to play a crucial role in supplying chemicals for explosives used in Moscow’s military operations against Ukraine.
According to a Reuters investigation, these plants have provided over 75% of the key chemicals used in explosives production since the onset of the war.
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