Taxes of over 800 million euros were paid to the Kremlin last year by the major Western banks that continue to operate in Russia. According to foreign news media, this is just one example of how financial institutions are financing Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The seven largest European banks by assets operating in Russia reported a combined profit of more than €3 billion in 2023, three times the amount in 2021.

The profits of Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit, ING, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and OTP came in part from funds that the banks cannot withdraw from Russia due to restrictions imposed in 2022, which, among other things, prohibit the payment of dividends by Russian subsidiaries to companies from “unfriendly” Western countries.

Higher interest rates, with the Russian central bank’s key rate at 16 percent, almost double pre-invasion levels, boosted bank profits.

The rise in profitability means European banks paid 800 million euros to Moscow, up from the 200 million euros they had paid in 2021, according to a Financial Times analysis.

Vladimir Putin is looking for ways to shore up his “war economy,” which includes cutting Russian oil production in an effort to push the price higher.