Raiffeisen Bank International recently celebrated a significant Raiffeisen Bank court win in Vienna, awarding it billions in damages. This legal triumph concerns funds previously frozen in Russia. Simultaneously, the bank vigorously refuted serious allegations from a prominent short-seller.
The Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters granted RBI and its Russian subsidiary, AO Raiffeisen, approximately €3.15 billion. This default judgment was issued against the Russian investment firm Rasperia Trading. After a thorough review, the court found RBI’s claims both admissible and well-founded.
RBI CEO Michael Höllerer emphasized the bank’s responsibility. “We must take effective action against damages incurred in Russia for our shareholders,” he stated. Rasperia now has a four-week window to file an appeal against this decision.
The legal dispute originated from EU sanctions. These measures prevented the construction group STRABAG from paying dividends to Rasperia. As STRABAG holds no assets in Russia, Rasperia consequently sued RBI’s local subsidiary, securing a €2.4 billion Russian judgment in spring 2025. RBI countered in July with its own lawsuit filed in Vienna.
Once the Vienna ruling becomes final, RBI plans further action. It will apply to the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) for the release of Rasperia’s currently frozen assets. Historically, sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska was considered Rasperia’s owner, though its current backers remain uncertain. Raiffeisen Bank International remains the largest Western bank operating in Russia; however, it faces immense pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB) to significantly reduce its local presence.
This substantial Raiffeisen Bank court win comes as the institution simultaneously confronts accusations from a short-seller. Grizzly Research published a report that temporarily pressured Raiffeisen shares. RBI responded promptly via a press release, rejecting all allegations “in the strongest possible terms.” Furthermore, the bank is now considering legal action against the report’s authors.
RBI accused the authors of factual errors and misleading claims. It stated that named companies were either never clients or had been blacklisted long before any official sanctions. The report also ignored conservative calculations for the bank’s Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR). As of June 30, 2026, the Group’s LCR stood at a robust 136%; excluding Russia, it was 135%.
Importantly, over €7 billion in high-quality liquid assets held by the Russian subsidiary are strictly excluded from this LCR calculation. Throughout the Rasperia lawsuit and the sale of its Belarusian subsidiary (Priorbank JSC), RBI maintained close coordination. Sanctions authorities, including the U.S. OFAC and the Austrian FMA, were kept informed. All steps, particularly before and after filing the Austrian lawsuit and during asset sales, were transparently coordinated with regulatory bodies.
