Raiffeisen Says Lifting Sanctions on Rasperia Is in the EU’s Interest

The European Union should remove sanctions on Rasperia Trading, a company affiliated with Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska, because doing so would aid one of the bloc’s biggest builders while offering compensation for court penalties, according to the chief of Raiffeisen Bank International AG.

EU delegates are discussing the proposal at the behest of Austria. The move would de facto transfer a 24% stake in Strabag SE to Raiffeisen, as ordered by a Russian court, which also forced the bank to pay €2.1 billion ($2.4 billion) of damages to Rasperia. Raiffeisen has been unable to take possession of the share packet due to sanctions.