The US Treasury is investigating Raiffeisen Bank because of its operations in Russia
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has launched an investigation into the Austrian banking conglomerate Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) in connection with its activities in Russia. OFAC is engaged in the planning and application of economic and trade sanctions.
The bank told Reuters that the organization received a request from OFAC asking it to “clarify the payment business and related processes carried out by the RBI in light of recent events related to Russia and Ukraine.”
The agency asked to provide information about the bank’s activities in Russia, in the occupied part of Donbass, as well as in Ukraine and Syria. In addition, OFAC requested information about the transactions and activities of certain customers.
A representative of the US Ministry of Finance declined to comment. The RBI statement said the organization is “fully cooperating” with OFAC and understands that the request was not prompted by any specific operation or business.
In the past, the RBI has not been subject to sanctions, but the OFAC request is causing concern among European financial regulators responsible for overseeing the bank’s activities, as it could lead to punitive measures.
- RBI subsidiary Raiffeisenbank operates in Russia. It is included in the list of systemically important Russian banks.
