RBI representative to US sanctions watchdog over Deripaska deal

2024-03-07 10:29:38

There is likely to be movement in the planned acquisition of the Strabag share from Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska by Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI). According to a “Press” article on Thursday, RBI officials are due to appear in Washington this week with the Department of Finance and Sanctions Authority (OFAC) on the issue. The RBI simply referred to the APA to a “regular exchange” on the subject of sanctions.

By acquiring the 27.8 percent stake in the construction group Strabag, which Deripaska, who is on the sanctions list, has put up for sale, RBI wants to bring the profits generated in Russia to Austria. However, this would only be possible through a few detours. Deripaska would first have to transfer his share to the Russian stock corporation Iliadis JSC so that Raiffeisen Russia might acquire it without breaking sanctions. Raiffeisen Russia might then transfer the shares to RBO in the form of a dividend in kind, according to the bank’s idea.

According to “press” information, Russia has already given the green light for the project. The USA’s approval is not necessary, but due to the US power in dollar transactions, hardly anyone dares to forego their approval, it said. The bank is fundamentally bound by European sanctions.

According to the report, the focus of the meeting in the USA will now be Deripaska’s role in the deal. The question is how much he earns and how much ultimately ends up with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The RBI is prepared to pay 1.5 billion euros for a total of 28,500,000 Strabag shares. That would be 53 euros per share, a strong premium to the current stock market price of the Strabag paper (42 euros), according to the “Presse”.

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