B4Ukraine Executive Director Nezir Sinani took part in the 30th Forum 2000 Conference in Prague on 13 October 2026, joining a panel discussion on how civil society can expose and disrupt the financial networks sustaining authoritarian regimes.
The panel, Severing the Lifelines of Autocracy: Civil Society Strategies Against Kleptocratic Finance, brought together organisations working across regions to examine how kleptocratic networks have evolved, how they exploit global financial and commercial infrastructure, and what civil society can do to hold them accountable.
Discussions focused on the role of international financial centres, secrecy jurisdictions and professional intermediaries in enabling authoritarian regimes to conceal wealth, evade sanctions and consolidate power. Participants also examined the emergence of alternative financial channels, including ruble-backed stablecoins, designed to circumvent Western restrictions.
In his remarks, Sinani stressed that Russia under Vladimir Putin is one of the most dangerous examples of an authoritarian regime using financial resources to sustain aggression beyond its borders.
He highlighted the importance of addressing the international financial infrastructure that continues to support Russia's economy and war effort, despite extensive sanctions imposed following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Sinani pointed to the continued presence of Western financial institutions in Russia, arguing that their operations provide financial infrastructure that helps sustain the Russian economy, generate tax revenues for the state and facilitate international business.
He singled out Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), the largest Western bank still operating in Russia, as a particularly important case for scrutiny.
Despite repeated commitments to reduce its Russian business and eventually withdraw, RBI remains deeply embedded in the country's financial system. Its Russian operations continue to provide an important channel for international trade payments, including transactions connected to Russian energy exports.
Sinani presented B4Ukraine's research into RBI's activities, which found that the bank's Russian asset management subsidiary purchased bonds issued by Russia's Ministry of Finance in late 2024, potentially exposing its parent company to sanctions-related risks under EU restrictions on Russian sovereign debt.
Following B4Ukraine's revelations, several members of the Austrian National Council submitted formal inquiries to the country's Finance Ministry. However, the Austrian National Bank subsequently decided not to take enforcement action against RBI, leaving important questions unanswered about the bank's efforts to ensure compliance with EU sanctions legislation.
Sinani also discussed a recent investigation by Grizzly Research, which examined Russian customs records and identified more than $1 billion worth of recorded trade involving goods matching EU, US, UK or Swiss import and export restrictions in force at the time.
More than $100 million of the identified transactions allegedly involved heavily sanctioned goods with potential military applications, including components used in battle tanks and machine tools of the kind used to manufacture nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.
Sinani emphasised the importance of distinguishing between recorded customs values and proven sanctions violations.
“These are customs values. They do not, by themselves, prove that Raiffeisen financed all these transactions or committed sanctions violations. But they raise a very serious question about the role of a Western bank that remains deeply connected to Russia's economy,” he said.
The investigation also identified more than $10 million in trade involving Iran and North Korea carrying RBI's bank code, suggesting that the concerns may extend beyond Russia.
Grizzly's undercover investigation further raised questions about the bank's internal sanctions compliance procedures. According to the findings presented by Sinani, one bank manager agreed to a proposed arrangement to circumvent US export controls involving Iran, while several others indicated that a prospective client seeking to fund drone purchases for the war in Ukraine could open an account.
These findings, Sinani argued, illustrate the gap that can emerge between a financial institution's public commitments to sanctions compliance and the practices of its operations on the ground.
Drawing on B4Ukraine's experience, Sinani stressed that civil society organisations have an important role in exposing financial networks that enable authoritarian regimes to sustain their activities.
While governments have intelligence capabilities, regulatory powers and enforcement mechanisms, civil society can independently investigate corporate activities, connect information across jurisdictions, expose gaps in sanctions enforcement and bring evidence to the attention of journalists, regulators, shareholders and policymakers.
“Investigations like ours in B4Ukraine and the recent one by Grizzly clearly show that civil society can make a difference,” Sinani said.
He called on relevant regulatory authorities to investigate the allegations concerning RBI, review the continued access of its Russian subsidiary to the SWIFT messaging system and ensure that Austrian authorities do not authorise the unfreezing of sanctioned shares while investigations remain ongoing.
He also urged EU regulatory bodies, including the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA), to encourage Austrian authorities to examine the evidence and assess whether sanctions violations have occurred.
Regarding the alleged transactions involving Iran and North Korea, Sinani called on the US Treasury to renew its scrutiny of RBI's activities and consider measures restricting the bank's access to the US financial system if violations are confirmed.
He further highlighted the need for stronger regulatory frameworks to ensure that the Russian subsidiaries of EU banks conduct enhanced due diligence following Russia's designation as a high-risk third country for money laundering in December 2025.
Concluding his remarks, Sinani emphasised that Russia's war economy cannot be understood in isolation from the international financial and commercial networks that continue to support it.
“Russia's war machine depends on an ecosystem. If we want to disrupt Russia's ability to wage war, we have to look at that entire ecosystem.”
He added: “When Russia’s autocracy falls, other autocracies will follow.”