Валерий Цепкало. Фото: tsepkalo.com
Valery Tsapkala presented a petition at a European Parliament hearing on behalf of the Belarusian Democratic Forum, calling for sanctions against the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International. According to the European Parliament’s schedule, the hearing took place on March 24.
The petition states that Raiffeisen Bank has remained “outside the scope of real sanctions and regulatory pressure” from the European Union.
Tsapkala noted that the bank continues to operate in Russia, servicing around half of the country’s foreign trade turnover.
He also questioned the bank’s announced exit from Belarus, calling the deal to sell its Belarusian assets non-transparent.
“We see signs of a possible simulation of market exit while maintaining economic interests or control, or the transfer of assets to individuals connected to the Lukashenka family, which would amount to a direct circumvention of the sanctions regime,” Tsapkala said in the European Parliament.
The petition emphasizes that EU sanctions policy should not be selective.
“When one bank is exempted from restrictions while others face sanctions for comparable actions, sanctions policy loses its legal nature. Instead of being a tool to uphold international law, it becomes a mechanism for market redistribution and superprofits.
There can be no third option here: either sanctions are lifted, or they are applied to everyone — without privileges and without exceptions,” he said.
Tsapkala called for sanctions against Raiffeisen Bank “on the same terms as those applied to other participants in Russia’s financial system,” as well as sanctions against the bank’s leadership, including Johann Strobl and Erwin Hameseder, such as asset freezes and travel restrictions.
In a Facebook post, Tsapkala said the petition received unanimous support from all Members of the European Parliament present, although representatives of the European People’s Party (EPP) were absent from the discussion. “Their avoidance of the debate looked, at the very least, странно — especially since they are often among the most vocal on sanctions policy,” he said.
Earlier in 2025, Tsapkala filed a lawsuit against Raiffeisen Bank in the Vienna Civil Court. He argued that the bank had avoided EU sanctions, profits from the war, supports the Russian and Belarusian regimes, and is involved in the confiscation of assets and seizure of valuables belonging to political and civic activists.