Raiffeisenbank handled defence contracts for russia

Investigative journalists from "Schemes" (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) came across a series of such transactions whilst analysing the activities of one of the counterparties in the russian military-industrial complex (MIC). The bank’s head office in Vienna did not deny this. They explained that, under russian law, the bank is “prohibited from refusing to process domestic payments in roubles”.

Journalists from “Schemes” uncovered these financial transactions whilst analysing tax data from the company “Kvalitet”, one of the key suppliers of lubricants to the russian defence industry and army. In its entire supply chain alone, at least 26 payments relating to state defence contracts, totalling over 15 million roubles (around 180,000 dollars at the exchange rate at the time), passed through Raiffeisenbank in 2024–2025.

As "Schemes" has established, most of the enterprises in the russian defence-industrial complex to which the private firm "Kvalitet" sells its products – lubricants – settle payments via Promsvyazbank (PSB), the main bank for the russian defence sector and one of the largest in the russian federation. However, this manufacturer not only sells goods to the defence industry but also, accordingly, purchases products for its own production needs. At the same time, as can be seen in tax documents, both "Kvalitet’s" sales and purchases are periodically marked as "invoices under a state defence contract". And, as journalists have discovered, in addition to russian state and private banks, the russian joint-stock company "Raiffeisenbank" (which is not subject to sanctions and continues to operate in russia, although it is still owned by the Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) – ed.) features in the manufacturer’s transactions.

"Kvalitet’s" bank records show that funds were debited from the company’s accounts at PSB, designated in the statements as ‘state defence order accounts’ – that is, accounts intended specifically for payments under defence contracts – and were transferred to accounts held with Raiffeisenbank JSC. The recipients of "Kvalitet’s" funds – clients of Raiffeisenbank – these include the steel barrel manufacturer "Dramtara" and the "Roshalsky Plastiser Plant", a manufacturer of chemical additives for polymers – that is, suppliers of packaging and chemical raw materials for "Kvalitet’s" products, which it manufactures primarily for the russian defence-industrial complex. Thanks to tax documents, "Schemes" recorded a total of 26 transactions in 2024 and 2025 (four of them in 2024 and a further 22 in the following year) totalling over 15 million roubles to the accounts of "Kvalitet’s" contractors via "Raiffeisenbank". These figures relate solely to entries linked to the russian state defence contract, as journalists counted a total of 344 transactions by the lubricant manufacturer via this bank.

Tax documents available to the editorial team show that these ‘Kvalitet’ accounts are a separate category specifically for payments under state defence contracts, all bearing the same numerical identifier; according to data from specialised russian platforms, it is clearly identified as a ‘state defence order contractor, in accordance with a directive from the Bank of russia. This identifier is visible in the payment order to the recipient bank – in this case, Raiffeisenbank JSC – which means that, in practice, the bank’s compliance department had the technical capability to identify the payment as a defence-related transaction. In russian tax data available to journalists, "Schemes" found instances where Raiffeisenbank JSC refused to process payments to "Kvalitet". On at least four occasions, the bank refused to process transactions for the manufacturer in 2025. These transactions did not relate directly to defence contracts, but were carried out as payments for the supply of chemical components from abroad – specifically the United Arab Emirates. In all these cases, representatives of the russian subsidiary of the Austrian bank cited "the bank’s internal policy" and asked to ‘consider other methods of payment.

‘Schemes’ asked the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International for comment on several occasions, setting out its findings. When asked about Raiffeisenbank JSC’s involvement in financial transactions for the russian military-industrial complex, the bank did not deny the transactions themselves, but merely stated that “the bank is prohibited from refusing to process internal payments in roubles”, and noted that “it ceased cooperation with the company "Kvalitet" several years ago”.

However, thanks to financial documents available to the editorial team, "Schemes" established that as of 2025, "Kvalitet" itself held at least four accounts with Raiffeisenbank JSC – one in roubles, one in dollars, one in euros and one in yuan.

In response to a request from journalists in March 2026, the head office of the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International stated the following: “RBI has clearly stated its intention to exit the russian market by selling its russian subsidiary – Raiffeisenbank JSC. The sale of the bank requires approval from russian, European and US regulators, which makes this process very complex.”

At the same time, since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, foreign banks have been urged to cease cooperation with the aggressor state; however, some of them remain in the russian market and continue to make profits there, despite the reputational damage.

Raiffeisen Bank International remains one of the largest Western banks still operating in russia. According to Reuters, in 2022 the Austrian group derived more than half of its profits from the russian market – and was already considering an exit at that time following the invasion of Ukraine.

In 2023, the group once again postponed the spin-off of its russian subsidiary. In May 2024, it was reported that Raiffeisen would begin the process of exiting the russian market that summer. In October 2025, Reuters reported that yet another attempt to sell the russian stake had failed.

In December 2025, Bloomberg reported that Johann Strobl, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International AG, was stepping down, leaving it to his successor to “resolve the problem created by the Austrian bank’s russian division”.

To assess such transactions, journalists turned to Vladislav Vlasyuk, the President of Ukraine’s authorised representative for sanctions policy. “In cases where any bank carries out a transaction that is clearly labelled as "Account for a state defence order", appropriate compliance checks must be carried out to ensure compliance with sanctions restrictions. Transactions such as those you have highlighted are usually deemed non-compliant. If a transaction is allowed to go through, any bank involved faces the risk of secondary sanctions and other consequences,” said Vlasyuk, commenting on the findings of "Schemes" in January 2026.

Public protests by Ukrainian and international activists calling for Raiffeisen to withdraw from russia have been ongoing for several years. The activists noted that “contrary to its promises to leave the market, Raiffeisen remains the largest Western bank in russia and, since 2022, has paid around 1.9 billion euros in taxes to the russian budget, part of which is being spent on military needs”.

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty