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Investing.com - Shares of Raiffeisen Bank International (VIE:RBIV) climbed by more than 6% in early European trading on Friday after the Financial Times reported that the European Union is mulling possible lifting some sanctioned Russian assets to compensate the lender.
The FT said Brussels was looking at easing sanctions placed on assets linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in order to pay back Raiffeisen for damages it was ordered to pay in Russia.
Citing seven sources, the paper added that provisions are being considered in the latest EU draft of Russian sanctions to unfreeze shares in Austrian construction firm Strabag -- which was previously partially owned by Deripaska -- valued at some 2 billion euros.
Those assets would then be transferred to Raiffeisen, which had been fined for the amount by a Russian court in a lawsuit from Rasperia, a former company owned by Deripaska.
According to the FT, the move is anticipated to be rejected by several EU member states at a gathering of ambassadors on Friday, with some officials concerned that it would effectively legitimize Russian courts who are seeking to confiscate Western assets to retaliate against EU sanctions. Austria initially brought forward the proposal.
The Strabag shares have been frozen since 2022, when the EU sanctioned Deripaska over his alleged role in supporting the Russian military and its related activities in the wake of the now years-old conflict in Ukraine.
Vienna-based Raiffeisen has been one of the biggest banks to continue operating in Russia, making it a key link between the country and the West despite the fighting.
Reuters has reported that Raiffeisen was previously eyeing an attempted sale of a stake in its Russian unit. But Russian officials were against the deal, arguing that the purchase of the stake by a domestic buyer could lead to further sanctions.