A Russian court has fined Raiffeisen Bank €2.1 billion for its operations in Russia.

A Russian court has imposed €2.1 billion in fines on the largest Western bank still operating in Russia – Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International (its Russian branch).

This is reported by Reuters.

Raiffeisen (abbreviated as RBI) announced that it will appeal the decision against its Russian branch and will seek to recover part of the damages through legal channels. 

The bank also stated that it will be compelled to reserve the corresponding amount in its financial reports for the previous year to cover the €2.1 billion fine.

According to Raiffeisen's lawyer Andriy Timchuk, this lawsuit, filled with numerous gross violations, is an attempt to force the sale of blocked assets. He also noted that during the hearing, unknown armed individuals in masks arrived at the court and sat next to the defendants with the apparent intent to exert additional pressure.

This legal case arose after Raiffeisen failed to execute a prior agreement that was supposed to allow it to unlock part of its frozen assets in Russia.

Raiffeisen has approximately €6 billion in Russia, earned from international payments and deposits from Russian clients. The bank has repeatedly stated its desire to separate its Russian business, but nearly three years of Russia's war against Ukraine have not led to any changes.

Background. Previously, it was reported that Russia is obstructing UniCredit and Raiffeisen from exiting its market. Experts say that this is Russia's way of trying to prevent new sanctions.