Austria is delaying the European Union’s latest Russia sanctions package, demanding the bloc unfreeze assets linked to tycoon Oleg Deripaska to compensate one of its banks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Vienna wants the EU to lift restrictions on Rasperia Trading, a Deripaska-affiliated firm, so it can transfer a €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) stake in construction firm Strabag SE to Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International AG. The transaction, Austria says, would allow Raiffeisen to be reimbursed for €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) in penalties it paid Rasperia due to a Russia court order.