VIENNA, April 2 (Reuters) - Austria's Raiffeisen Bank

International, the biggest Western bank in Russia,

said on Tuesday it stands by its assessment that its purchase of

a stake in Austria's Strabag long held by a Russian

tycoon complied with sanctions laws.

But the bank also said the deal for the Strabag stake, which

has faced scrutiny by U.S. government officials, "requires

extensive compliance verifications" following a recent transfer

of the holding.

The disclosure by Raiffeisen (RBI) on Tuesday is the latest

development in its attempt to unlock the stake in a complex deal

as a means of freeing up some of its billions stranded in

Russia. Reuters reported on March 20 that U.S. Treasury

officials have expressed their concerns about the transaction in

meetings with the bank and Austrian authorities.

In December, RBI announced it intended to buy the 1.5

billion euro Strabag stake from Russia-based Rasperia Trading

Limited, a company controlled by sanctioned Russian businessman

Oleg Deripaska.

Around the same time, Strabag said Iliadis JSC was buying

Rasperia, a deal whose conclusion was announced last week.

Russian company filings as of last week showed that Iliadis

was registered as a company on July 12, 2023, but its ownership

is unclear.

"While this recent transaction is unrelated to RBI's

announced acquisition of the STRABAG SE shares, it requires

extensive compliance verifications," RBI said.

It said Rasperia's new ownership structure needed to give

RBI "comfort that no sanctioned individuals or entities will

benefit directly or indirectly" by its Strabag deal.

RBI had initially said it planned to close its deal by the

end of March.