Top US sanctions official delivers warning to Austria on Russia
A top US sanctions official will visit Austrian authorities as well as Raiffeisen Bank International on 7-8 March, the US embassy to Austria said on Wednesday (6 March), ratcheting up pressure on the biggest Western bank in Russia.
Anna Morris, a US Treasury official focused on illicit money flows, will encourage banks in Austria to evaluate their exposure to Russia and “take mitigation measures”, the embassy said.
Morris is the latest in a line of US officials to visit Austria, one of the European countries with the closest ties to Russia.
Morris will outline a new US sanctions authority, the embassy said, adding that this body would “create heightened risks for banks and incentivize them to take measures to protect themselves from trade related to Russia’s military industrial base, or risk being cut off from the US financial system.”
It is the latest attempt by the United States to exert pressure on Raiffeisen, which processes large volumes of payments to and from Russia.
Raiffeisen delays quitting Russia as Austria defends ties
Raiffeisen Bank International is delaying plans to leave Russia, three people familiar with its position said, as Austria steps up its defence of long-standing ties with Moscow.
The United States is the globe’s most powerful regulator chiefly because it can sever a bank’s access to the dollar, a cornerstone of international finance.
The visit follows an executive order from US President Joe Biden last December threatening penalties for financial institutions that help Russia circumvent sanctions, upping the stakes for banks like Raiffeisen.
Reiffeisen Bank International is represented in 24 countries, including Belarus, another country under Western sanctions. In Central and Eastern Europe, the Austrian group covers 12 countries, five of which are EU members, with subsidiary banks.
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