Moscow-based pharma firm sues raiffeisenbank for 337.5 million euros

R-Pharm International Files €337.5 Million Lawsuit Against Raiffeisenbank

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Moscow-based biotech firm R-Pharm International has sued Raiffeisen's Russian unit for 337.5 million euros ($390 million), court filings show, in a case that a Russian newspaper says is linked to R-Pharm's failure to sell an asset in Germany.

The court filings did not specify the reason for R-Pharm International's claim. Raiffeisenbank, the Russian subsidiary of Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International, declined to comment. R-Pharm did not immediately respond.

RBI, the biggest Western bank still operating in Russia, has come under intense pressure from the United States and European regulators to pare its ties to Russia, something it has been doing by reducing its loan portfolio.

The bank has continued to earn handsome profits, partly from handling international money transfers with most Russian banks under Western sanctions, but was hit by a legal dispute that saw it write off 1.2 billion euros in the second quarter of this year.

Russian newspaper Vedomosti, citing a source familiar with the lawsuit, reported that R-Pharm International was seeking compensation from Raiffeisenbank due to lost profits from a production facility in Germany and the loss of business.

Raiffeisenbank had been hired in June 2023 to find a buyer for the plant, Vedomosti reported.

R-Pharm International said in a 2024 report that it owned 100% of R-Pharm Germany, which operates the plant, in Illertissen, Bavaria.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for August 12, court filings show.

Reuters reported in May 2021 that Russia was struggling to make enough doses of its COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik-V, with manufacturers like R-Pharm and other private Russian companies facing challenges including finding qualified staff and accessing necessary equipment.

($1 = 0.8657 euros)

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya. Writing by Alexander Marrow. Editing by Mark Potter)