LONDON/VIENNA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - A Russian court has

frozen Raiffeisen Bank International's local arm,

killing off any prospect of selling the business for now and

deepening the standoff between Moscow and the West.

Austrian bank RBI, active in Russia since the end of the Soviet

Union, has increasingly frustrated U.S. and European officials

after failing to scale back its business there, despite repeated

warnings it should pull back following the 2022 invasion of

Ukraine.

Below is a timeline of the row over Raiffeisen's presence in

Russia.

February 2022: Russia invades Ukraine, prompting unprecedented

Western sanctions on Moscow. Many Western banks rushed to sever

ties or shut down offices in Russia.

2022: Some banks stay put, the biggest of which are RBI and

Italy's UniCredit. Business is booming as Russian

companies seek a payments lifeline to the West. Washington,

however, is watching.

February 2023: U.S. sanctions enforcement agency OFAC launches

an inquiry into RBI. U.S. officials ask Raiffeisen about its

business in Russia, the partially occupied Donbas, Ukraine and

Syria, including about the transactions and activity of certain

clients, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told

Reuters. The probe continues.

March 2023: The European Central Bank pressures RBI to quit

Russia, sources said.

May 2023: RBI seeks to reassure critics and says it is

stepping up attempts to exit Russia, a message it often repeated

in the months that follow. The search for a buyer, however,

leads nowhere.

July 2023: RBI delays plans to leave Russia by its earlier

deadline of September, sources tell Reuters. Both the bank and

Austria dig in their heels.

December 2023: To unlock funds stranded in Russia, RBI unveils a

complex deal to take a stake in Austrian construction group

Strabag linked to sanctioned Russian tycoon Oleg

Deripaska.

March 2024: Washington pressures RBI to drop the Strabag deal

because it believes Deripaska will gain. The news catches

investors off guard, sending the stock into a spin. RBI is

forced to drop a bond sale.

March-April 2024: ECB again increases pressure on RBI, demanding

the bank cut loans to customers in Russia and pare back

international payments.

May 2024: In a written ultimatum, Washington threatens to curb

RBI's access to the dollar system, a drastic penalty.

In a letter, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo

expresses concern about RBI's presence in Russia as well as the

$1.5 billion Strabag deal, a source told Reuters.

May 2024: RBI drops the contested Strabag deal.

May 2024: RBI again defends its conduct, saying it has

reduced activities in Russia and that leaving the country is

complicated.

September 2024: RBI reveals that a Russian court has frozen

shares in its local arm. This means that the sale that has long

been pushed for by regulators, cannot happen - at least for now.