Vienna is seeking a sanctions waiver to unfreeze Oleg Deripaska-linked shares to compensate Raiffeisen Bank for losses in Russia
Austria’s bid to unfreeze €2 billion ($2.1 billion) in assets linked to sanctioned Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska has triggered a rift in the EU, according to a draft proposal seen by EUobserver.
The plan has drawn fierce opposition from Baltic, Nordic, and some Central European states, including Poland and the Czech Republic, which warn that it would set a “dangerous precedent,” according to the report.
The case centers on an attempt by Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) to compensate for losses incurred under a Russian court ruling. Austria’s largest lender is among the few foreign lenders still operating in Russia despite Western sanctions imposed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
The bid, which will be discussed by EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday, seeks to insert a “derogation” into existing sanctions that would allow national authorities to “authorize the release of frozen funds … attributable, directly or indirectly” to three blacklisted companies and two Russian businessmen, including Deripaska and Dmitry Beloglazov.
The plan would release around €2 billion in Strabag shares, an Austrian construction group once part-owned by Deripaska. Austria froze Deripaska’s Strabag shares in 2022. The EU Council claimed that Deripaska and Beloglazov later used the companies Iliadis, Rasperia, and Titul to sidestep the freeze, according to the outlet.
Following the collapse of an earlier asset swap under US and EU pressure, RBI’s new solution to a Russian court’s €2 billion damages ruling is to acquire Deripaska’s frozen 24% Strabag stake.
Austria’s proposal would effectively enforce the Russian court’s ruling by letting Raiffeisen claim the shares.
One EU diplomat told the outlet that the move could encourage similar claims by Russian entities. EU companies still have €70 billion to €100 billion of assets in Russia that could be leveraged in similar schemes.
Philip Goeth, an Austrian lawyer who has represented Russian businessmen, argued that “Austria is merely acting rationally in trying to protect its systemic banking industry.”
Vienna’s proposal, however, requires the unanimous approval of all other EU members.
Deripaska, the founder of aluminum giant Rusal, has called the Western sanctions outdated and counterproductive, arguing that they have failed to weaken Russia and risk harming the global economy.
