The National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine (NACP) has added the Austrian banking group, Raiffeisen Bank International, to the list of international sponsors of war. The relevant statement was made by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine (NACP) on Telegram.
“Probably, some well-known banks hope that if they continue operating in Moscovia, the terrorist state will take huge loans from them to pay reparations to Ukraine. The NACP included the Austrian banking group, Raiffeisen Bank International, on the list of international sponsors of war for the continuation of the bank’s operations in Russia and the official recognition of the so-called ‘DPR’ and ‘LPR’ through its representative office in Russia,” the report states.
According to the NACP, Raiffeisen Bank International took advantage of the sanctions that led to the withdrawal of its competitors from the Russian market. In 2022, the bank’s payments to Russia’s state budget were 4.8 times higher compared to the pre-war year. Raiffeisen Bank’s Russian branch transferred EUR 559 million to Russia’s state budget, which is equal to the cost of about 95 Kalibr-type missiles used by the terrorist state against Ukrainian peaceful settlements on a regular basis.
The National Bank of Ukraine notes the lack of progress on the way of making decisions regarding Raiffeisen Bank’s withdrawal from the Russian market, the NACP added.
Not only Raiffeisen Bank officially acknowledges the so-called ‘DPR’ and ‘LPR’ through its Russian representative office, but it also offers Russian occupiers favorable lending terms (payment holidays and preferential loans), i.e. actually rewards the Russian military for their war crimes.
Additionally, Raiffeisen Bank plays into the hands of Russian propaganda, calling the war in Ukraine a ‘special military operation’.
Hence, the aforementioned evidence and Raiffeisen Bank’s continued operations in Russia indicate its direct support and sponsorship of terrorism, the NACP concluded, Ukrinform reports.
