The court in Kaliningrad recovered from Raiffeisen €342 million in favor of Rasperia

A Russian court ordered Raiffeisenbank to pay Rasperia an additional penalty of €342 million in a dispute over Austrian construction concern Strabag. This is reported by Reuters with reference to the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI).

A representative of the RBI called the decision an expected reaction to the trial in Vienna. In September, an Austrian court in absentia ordered Rasperia, which is under EU sanctions, to pay the group about €3.15 billion in compensation.

RBC sent a request to Raiffeisen Bank.

In December 2023, RBI announced plans to acquire a 27.78% stake in Strabag from Rasperia for €1.51 billion. The buyer was to be the Russian Raiffeisenbank. Then he planned to transfer the papers to the Austrian parent structure in the form of dividends. However, in May 2024, the group abandoned the deal without obtaining approval from European regulators.

In August 2024, Rasperia appealed to the Arbitration Court of the Kaliningrad region. Among the defendants were Raiffeisen Bank, Strabag and the founder of the construction concern Peter Haselsteiner. The company accused them of seizing corporate control of Strabag, removing its representatives from shareholder meetings, blurring the stake below the blocking stake and failing to pay dividends.

On January 20, 2025, a court ordered Raiffeisen Bank to pay €2.404 billion to Rasperia and accept an equivalent amount of Strabag shares on its balance sheet. The bank disagreed with the decision and intends to appeal it. Andrey Timchuk, representing his interests, argued that the lawsuit is related to the internal conflict of Strabag shareholders and has no relation to the credit institution.

After the Russian decision, RBI began to seek compensation from the assets of Rasperia frozen in Austria. On July 23, the group reported that a Russian court had banned it and other parties to the dispute from conducting certain proceedings against Rasperia outside Russia. At the same time, under the terms of the ban, RBI and the Russian Raiffeisen Bank could file claims in Austria for up to €2.85 billion without a penalty. However, the group announced its intention to recover about €3.15 billion. On September 22, the RBI reported an absentee decision by a Vienna court awarding the group and Russia's Raiffeisenbank about €3.15 billion.

For recovery, the group expected to use 28.5 million shares of Strabag, dividends due on them starting from 2021 and cash payment from the reduction of the group’s capital in March 2024. The RBI then explained that after the decision comes into force, it will apply to the Austrian financial regulator for permission to recover compensation from these assets.