 |
| Hydra accused Raiffeisenbank branches of cooperating with the bank's Russian subsidiaries, thereby providing financing to an organization linked to Moscow. (Source: Reuters_ |
Raiffeisenbank, one of the last major Western banks in Russia, is the fourth-largest bank in the Czech Republic with 1.8 million customers in the European Union (EU) member state. The association that filed the lawsuit, Hydra, which is set up to protect the interests of Czech citizens and businesses, said it had filed complaints against Raiffeisenbank's branches in the Czech Republic and Austria in late June.
Hydra alleges that Raiffeisenbank branches have cooperated with the bank's Russian subsidiaries, thereby providing financing to an organization linked to Moscow. The association claims that Russia is using tax money paid by Raiffeisenbank to finance the conflict in Ukraine, arguing that the bank, which has branches in Russia that generate profits, partly contributing to the Russian budget in the form of taxes, is "a terrorist organization".
"It makes no sense for the Czech government to provide humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, but at the same time ignore banks that finance Russia," said Libor Malecek, chairman of the association.
Prague police said they had received a complaint from Hydra, while the association said it had filed a complaint with authorities in Austria and Europe. It is also calling for the creation of an international investigation team, including from the United States, which has launched an investigation into the bank's activities in Russia.
Raiffeisenbank's annual report shows that the bank made 2 billion euros in net profit and paid 560 million euros in income tax in Russia in 2022.
Source
Comment (0)