Blackmail worked: Ukraine removed Raiffeisen Bank from the list of war sponsors in exchange for new sanctions against Russia

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has suspended the status of an international war sponsor for the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International. This was demanded by the Austrian government, which blackmailed Ukraine by refusing to vote for the 12th package of European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia.

This is evidenced by data from the War and Sanctions portal, which is maintained by the NACP and the Ministry of Justice. As of the morning of December 17, Raiffeisen Bank is on the list of international sponsors of the war, but with the note "status suspended for the period of bilateral consultations with the involvement of representatives of the European Commission."

According to Reuters, in response, Austria agreed to vote for the 12th package of EU sanctions against Russia. Prior to the NACP's decision, Austria insisted on removing the bank from the list of international war sponsors, threatening to block new sanctions against Russia.

"Austria's sanctions warning has been lifted," an EU diplomat told the agency on condition of anonymity. It is noted that although the NACP blacklist is not a legal entity, it is important "symbolically." Being on the list increases public pressure on Raiffeisen to leave Russia.

Back in October, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg openly criticized the NAPC list at a meeting of European ministers in Kyiv. Moreover, representatives of Raiffeisen Bank met with NAPC representatives to discuss how to remove the group from the list of war sponsors.

Why Raiffeisen Bank became an international war sponsor

Raiffeisen Bank Group was included in the list of international sponsors of war back in March 2023. The NACP noted then that the Russian division of Raiffeisen pays huge amounts of taxes to the Russian budget, and this money is used to finance the war against Ukraine.

In addition, the Russian Raiffeisen Bank was involved in a scandal. It turned out that the Russian subsidiary of Raiffeisen officially recognizes the so-called LPR and DPR and calls the Russian war against Ukraine a "special operation" on the website and in the documents of its Russian representative office. The bank also directly assists the Russian occupiers by offering loan repayment holidays and preferential loans to mobilized Russians.

This has even put the bank on the radar of the US authorities. It was assumed that this could lead to the imposition of US sanctions against the bank. However, this scenario did not happen.

Raiffeisen Bank International itself assures that it intends to leave the Russian market completely. However, this step has already been postponed twice. The head of the banking group, Johann Strobl, justified the delay by saying that leaving Russia is "very difficult."

"We had previously informed you of a possible date of December 31, which seems very unlikely today," Strobl said in November 2023. Prior to that, the bank planned to leave Russia by the end of September.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the EU reached a political agreement on the 12th package of sanctions against Russia. It is expected to be introduced by the New Year. Thus, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, together with the European Commission, proposed to:

• impose sanctions on more than 120 individuals and legal entities for their role in undermining Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity;
• adopt new import and export bans;
• raise the oil price ceiling;
• strengthen counteraction to the circumvention of EU sanctions.

It is not yet known for certain whether the list of trade bans will include an embargo on Russian diamonds. This measure has caused a lot of controversy in the European Union.

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