Austrian Raiffeisen Bank sent 9 billion euros to Russia before the invasion of Ukraine - media
Kyiv • UNN
Austrian Raiffeisen Bank transferred 9 billion euros to Russia in January-February 2022. The funds were provided in the form of euros, dollars and Swiss francs, probably to support the Russian economy.
The Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) delivered at least 9 billion euros to Russia in January-February 2022. The funds were provided in the form of euro banknotes, dollars and Swiss francs, UNN writes with reference to Der Standard.
When Russian troops were preparing to invade Ukraine in 2022, not only military equipment, but also billions of cash flowed into the region. The Austrian bank Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which is still the most important Western bank present in Russia, played a key role in this process
It is noted that according to the results of the investigation by STANDARD and Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), between January and February 2022, the bank delivered to the aggressor state a total of more than 9 billion euros in at least 189 tranches.
The publication emphasizes that it is particularly striking that at least ten of these cash deliveries, according to Import Genius, which specializes in trade data, "arrived in Russia on or immediately after February 24, 2022. In other words, it happened exactly when Russian tanks were already advancing on Kyiv, and Russian combat aircraft were already striking Ukrainian cities.
It is also reported that the recipient of the funds was TBSS, which is closely connected with the state structures of the Russian Federation. Thus, RBI actually indirectly supported the invasion by supporting the Russian economy during the war.
It is unknown who exactly received this cash from Austria. It "could have been wealthy Russians, oligarchs and Putin's friends, but also the Russian state or its military
In general, RBI has been regularly sending cash to Russia for many years. However, in the weeks leading up to the invasion, the volume of deliveries increased dramatically. We are talking about sending an average of up to 40 million euros per delivery - more than three times more than the average in previous years.
According to sources close to RBI, one of the deliveries that was supposed to be sent on the day the war started was stopped at the last minute. A bank representative said that no cash deliveries to Russia had been made since the start of the war.
Addition
Earlier UNN wrote that despite the sanctions of President Volodymyr Zelensky against "Alfa-Bank" and its owner Mikhail Fridman, the Russian bank managed to withdraw 3 million dollars from Ukraine. The Commercial Court of Kyiv and the Ministry of Justice, in particular the executive service headed by Deputy Minister Andriy Gaichenko, contributed to this.
