The RBI Dilemma: US Sanctions vs. Austrian Law

The guest contribution by our partner Andreas Pollak in the current issue of Trend magazine (10.03.2023)

Here you find the German article

The RBI dilemma: Continuing the Russia-related business activities risks US sanctions, while selling them creates conflicts with Austrian law.

The Raiffeisen Bank International has come under the scrutiny of a US authority due to its activities in Russia. This might initially sound absurd. After all, why should Austrian companies have to adhere to foreign sanction regulations? While it is well known that since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, all sorts of punitive measures against the Russian Federation have been imposed from various sides, complying with American or other extraterritorial sanction norms is not mandatory under Austrian law…..