Russian court lifts temporary freeze of Raiffeisen shares in Russian unit

Raiffeisen Bank's Russian Unit Can Now Sell Shares After Court Ruling

By Elena Fabrichnaya

MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian court has lifted interim measures that effectively banned Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International from selling its Russian subsidiary, a lawyer for the bank and the Russian unit, Raiffeisenbank, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The court's decision could bring RBI closer to finding a way to exit Russia, which the bank says it has been working on for more than three years since Russia launched the conflict in Ukraine.

But finding a suitable, non-sanctioned buyer remains a challenge and banks face extra regulatory hurdles, including needing the personal approval for any deal from President Vladimir Putin.

RBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Russian court had in June rejected RBI's bid to lift the injunction, the result of a lawsuit brought by Russian investment firm Rasperia after a collapsed deal in which RBI was ordered last year to pay around 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in damages.

The bank's dispute with Rasperia followed the failure of a deal that RBI hoped would allow it to unlock some of its frozen assets in Russia. RBI had sought to buy a stake in Vienna-based construction company Strabag, but pulled out under pressure from Washington.

Anastasia Taradankina, a lawyer for Raiffeisen's Russian subsidiary from Russian law firm Delcredere, confirmed that the court's interim share seizure had been overturned.

"We have done everything and the measures were lifted," Taradankina told Reuters.

According to court filings, the measures were lifted on August 4.

RBI swung to a loss in the second quarter after a 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) write-off over the legal dispute in Russia, it said last week.

($1 = 0.8667 euros)

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Sharon Singleton and David Holmes)