The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has added the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International to the list of international war sponsors, according to the NAPC website.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the bank continued to operate in Russia and officially recognized the so-called DPR and LPR.
Raiffeisen has been operating in Russia since 1996 and is included in the list of systemically important Russian banks.
"Today, Raiffeisen is one of the most important financial channels through which Russian business entities conduct transactions in dollars and euros. Thus, the bank receives huge profits, from which it then finances the budget of the aggressor country with its taxes. Thus, in the fall of 2022, reports showed that in the third quarter, the Russian Raiffeisen Bank updated its net profit record, earning €790 million. Compared to the previous year, this figure quadrupled. The Russian subsidiary of the bank accounted for almost 70% of the net profit of the entire group," the NAPC reported.
Last year, the bank paid 4.8 times more to the Russian budget than in the entire pre-war year - €559 million. According to the NAPC, this is equal to the cost of about 95 Kalibr missiles, which Russia regularly fires at peaceful Ukrainian cities.
Raiffeisen also offers favourable lending terms to the Russian occupiers (loan repayment holidays and preferential loans) and, according to the NACP, plays along with Russian propaganda, calling the war a "special military operation".
"The National Bank of Ukraine states that there has been no progress in making decisions on the bank's withdrawal from the Russian market. On the contrary, Raiffeisen Bank remains an active participant in the Russian banking market, competing to increase its loan portfolio. Thus, all these facts and the continuation of Raiffeisen Bank's operations in Russia mean direct support and sponsorship of terrorism," the NAPC pointed out.