US sanctions against Rasperia and Iliadis: STRABAG confirmed in its course of strictest sanctions compliance
15 May 2024
- U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions Iliadis JSC and MKAO “Rasperia Trading Limited”
- STRABAG shares held by Rasperia remain frozen
- Sanctions have no direct impact on STRABAG SE or its subsidiaries
STRABAG SE, through a notice published yesterday by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has learned that OFAC has placed the STRABAG shareholder MKAO “Rasperia Trading Limited” (Rasperia) and Iliadis JSC (Iliadis), among others, on the U.S. sanctions list.
According to OFAC, the transaction involving the STRABAG shares, as described in our ad-hoc notice from 27 March 2024, would have served as a scheme to circumvent the existing sanctions regimes. Rasperia was placed on the U.S. sanctions list by OFAC for being controlled by Iliadis and is not accused of any sanctions violation or attempt at circumvention.
The inclusion of Rasperia on the U.S. sanctions list has no direct impact on STRABAG’s business activities. STRABAG SE and its subsidiaries are not sanctioned and their business operations are not affected by the OFAC designation.
“From the very beginning, meaning from 1 March 2022, we have taken decisive steps to distance ourselves from the Russian shareholder. All dividend payments have been frozen, Rasperia has been excluded from all General Meetings and the Supervisory Board member delegated by Rasperia has been removed. Last but not least, our recent capital measure has forced Rasperia’s shareholdings to below the important threshold of 25%,” says Klemens Haselsteiner, CEO of STRABAG SE, confirming the company’s clear approach.
Due to the EU Sanctions Regulation, Rasperia’s shares in STRABAG SE have been frozen anyway ever since EU sanctions were imposed. STRABAG has always taken the position that Rasperia is itself subject to sanctions under EU sanctions law. In the company’s view, the transaction in Russia has not changed this status for Rasperia or the STRABAG SE shares.
