International groups, including B4Ukraine, BankTrack, Attac and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, protested on Thursday, ahead of and during Raiffeisen Bank’s annual general meeting in Vienna, demanding the bank’s immediate withdrawal from Russia.
Inside the AGM, discussion of the bank’s recent results was interrupted when several activist shareholders stood up, urging the bank to “get out of Russia.”
Contrary to its promises to withdraw from the market, Raiffeisen remains the largest Western bank in Russia. Since 2022, it has paid approximately €1.9 billion in taxes into the Russian treasury – about half of which is spent on the military.
Reports suggest that the bank has maintained financial ties with Russian military suppliers and sanctioned state-operated entities and operates crucial payment infrastructure allowing Russian gas to continue flowing into Europe.
In 2025, Raiffeisen’s Russian unit invested €335 million in Russian companies such as Gazprom and Rosneft, as well as in Russian government bonds.
A recent report shows that withdrawing from Russia would actually be more cost-effective than taking the risk of remaining.
“Raiffeisen must immediately stop financing Russia’s illegal war of aggression. Leaving Russia would benefit not only human rights, but also the bank and its shareholders,” said Nezir Sinani, Executive Director of B4Ukraine.
The activists also criticized the Austrian group’s investments in fossil fuels and in anti-democratic military and surveillance technologies. “Despite a group profit of 1.44 billion euros, RBI continues to prioritize profits over peace, climate justice, and fundamental democratic rights. And while the bank profits from war, RBI Supervisory Board Chairman Erwin Hameseder is calling for even more armaments, easier arms exports, and EU rules that classify climate-damaging arms investments as ‘sustainable’,” said Hanna Braun of Attac Austria.