Western banks that have continued operations in Russia paid more than €800mn in taxes last year, marking a fourfold increase from pre-war levels, despite pledges to reduce their exposure following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on April 29. The Financial Times’ analysis revealed that the seven largest European banks in Russia—Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit, ING, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, and OTP—collectively reported profits exceeding €3bn in 2023. The significant tax contributions from these banks account for about 0.4% of all Rus…