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U.S. alerted Raiffeisen access to dollar system could be curbed over Russia, source states

Raiffeisen Bank International was cautioned by the U.S. Treasury in writing that its access to the U.S. monetary system might be curbed due to the fact that of its Russia dealings, according to an individual who has seen the correspondence.

On May 6, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo sent out a letter to RBI, revealing concern about RBI's expansion in Russia also a $1.5 billion handle an approved Russian tycoon that the bank has considering that terminated, according to the person, who requested privacy due to the fact that the matter is private.

While the offer connected to Oleg Deripaska was ditched by Raiffeisen days after the letter got here, the source said that U.S. Treasury's issues over Raiffeisen's service in Russia remain.

The caution is the greatest yet to the most significant Western bank in Russia and follows months of pressure from Washington, which has actually been checking out the Austrian lending institution's company in the nation for more than a year.

A spokesperson for Raiffeisen stated that it had actually left from the Strabag deal and had not entered into any such deals.

The spokesperson stated RBI had actually significantly reduced activities in Russia and taken broad measures to reduce the dangers from sanctions.

RBI will continue to work towards the deconsolidation of its Russian subsidiary, the representative told .

In the letter, Adeyemo, the U.S. Treasury's second-highest ranking official, stated Raiffeisen's expansion would oppose guarantees RBI had actually provided to the Treasury that they were attempting to unwind in Russia, according to the source.

Adeyemo alerted that RBI's actions increased the threat of Treasury needing to take action to restrict its access to the U.S. monetary system given issues that its behaviour put U.S. national security at danger.