Russian shareholder takes Strabag to court over ‘worthless’ shares
06 September 2024
A company that had been under the control of a sanctioned Russian oligarch has taken legal action against Austrian contractor Strabag in Kaliningrad, Russia.
Finishers worked with data based on the single digital BIM model
MKAO ‘Rasperia Trading Limited’ had been controlled by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who was hit with sanctions by the US and European Union following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Strabag froze the shares after Deripaska was sanctioned and last year cut Rasperia’s stake in Strabag to below 25% to reduce the risk on the company’s business activities.
In March this year, MKAO Rasperia said it had transferred its 24.1% in the Austrian construction group to Iliadis JSC, within Deripaska relinquishing his previous control. The shares remained frozen.
That was followed in May by news that Austria-based Raffeisen Bank International had dropped a plan to buy a €1.5 billion (US$1.6 billion) stake in Strabag from the Russian shareholders, amid pressure from the US.
Now news has emerged that Rasperia is taking legal action against both Strabag and Raffeisenbank’s Russian subsidiary AO Raffeisenbank. It claims that measures taken by Strabag and its core shareholders in response to the sanctions against it has rendered its shareholding worthless.
Rasperia is seeking €1.9 billion in damages, to be collected from AO Raffeisenbank in Russia. Strabag said that this was because enforcement in Europe is “hopeless” for the Russian shareholders.
The court also imposed an injunction on Raiffeisen Bank International’s shareholdings in AO Raiffeisenbank.
Strabag said it did not expect the lawsuit to have any economic impact on its business.
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