Last year, European banks paid in taxes in Russia a thousandth of what they did before the invasion. Mainly on Raiffeisen Bank

INAll European banks operating in Russia paid roughly 800 million euros (about 20 billion crowns) in taxes to the Russian budget last year. This represents a drop compared to the period before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, despite the banks’ promises to minimize their activities in Russia. The British newspaper Financial Times (FT) informs about it.

The seven European banks with the largest assets in Russia spent a total of 15 billion euros (roughly 75.5 billion crowns) in Russia last year. These are Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), UniCredit, ING, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Intensa Sanpaolo and OTP. Their profits thus no longer tripled against 2021. They were created by financial assets that banks cannot withdraw from Russia.

As a result of increased profitability, these banks paid 800 million euros in taxes in Russia last year, according to the FT analysis, while in 2021 it was only 200 million euros. Half of the tax credits belong to the Austrian company Raiffeisen Bank International, which is the largest Western bank in Russia.

In addition to European banks, large American banks, such as Citigroup and JPMorgan, are also active in Russia. Citigroup spent $149 million (roughly 3.5 billion crowns) and paid 53 million dollars (1.2 billion crowns) in taxes in Russia last year, according to the Kyiv Economic Circle (KSE). At JPMorgan, the profit was 35 million dollars and the tax was 6.8 million dollars.

Foreign banks in Russia suffer not only from high annual rates, but also from sanctions imposed on Russian banks by fallen countries. These sanctions limit the access of Russian banks to the international payment system and increase the attractiveness of failed banks for Russian clients, according to the Financial Times.

Last year, Raiffeisen Bank International spent 1.8 billion euros in Russia, which is more than three times as much as in 2021. Thus, Russian activities accounted for roughly half of the bank’s total profit, whereas before the Russian invasion of Ukraine it was only a third. In addition to the usual tax obligations, the bank had to pay 47 million euros last year in Russia as a result of the tax on foreign profits, which the Kremlin imposed on some companies last year.

Raiffeisen Bank International is subject to criticism in the West due to its ongoing activities in Russia. Among other things, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Department of the Treasury pressured it to suppress Russian activities. After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in November 2022, the bank repeatedly announced payments from Russia, but did not implement them.

“The stability in Russia is not only about the RBI. The Russian Central Bank has done everything in its power not to let them leave, because there are only a few unsanctioned banks through which Russia can receive and send payments in the SWIFT international payment system,” said an unnamed executive in the Russian banking system, according to the Financial Times. sector.