VIENNA (Reuters) -A legal claim that could have triggered a penalty against Raiffeisen Bank International, the biggest Western bank in Russia, was withdrawn on Tuesday by a group of shareholders in an Austrian building company.
Raiffeisen, which has a critical role for Russia in handling payments, had been threatened by a court ruling that would have imposed a 1 billion euro penalty on the bank were a separate claim to go ahead against a Russian firm.
RBI was linked indirectly to the dispute through a complex web of cross shareholdings involving one of its own owners.
The claim against the Russian company Rasperia had been brought by shareholders of Austrian builder Strabag, including insurer Uniqa and one Raiffeisen shareholder. Strabag said on Tuesday the claim had been withdrawn.
An RBI spokesperson said it had been drawn into the dispute because it had assets in Russia but that it was not otherwise involved.
More than three years after Russia sent troops into Ukraine, Raiffeisen’s continued presence in Russia underlines the lingering ties between Moscow and Vienna – with Vienna having served as a hub for cash from Russia and former Soviet states.
(Reporting by John O’Donnell and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; Editing by Alison Williams)
