Raiffeisenbank international (RBI) was involved last June in arranging a government bond for Belarus for 1.4 billion dollars. At that time, two of the most promising candidates for the presidential elections in August were already in custody, and demonstrators and journalists were arrested. When the bond came on the market, nobody could have expected that the election would be free and fair, said Pawel Latuschko from the opposition coordination council in a report in the Ö1 morning journal on Monday. He demands that the Belarusian RBI subsidiary Priorbank should break off all business relationships with state banks and sell all government bonds it still holds.
No information could be given about the purchase or sale of government bonds, the RBI told Ö1. The bank is watching the situation in Belarus with concern and is hoping for a peaceful solution. The accusation of providing economic support for human rights violations is sharply rejected. There is also no business with sanctioned persons.
Latuschko would like Raiffeisen to remain active in Belarus. However, the bank should publicly declare that it does not want any business relationships with customers who are responsible for suppressing the protests.
