Russian justice orders seizure of property of UniCredit, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank | EUROtoday

Published on : 05/18/2024 – 22:16

3 minutes

Russian justice has ordered the seizure of a whole lot of tens of millions of euros in property of the UniCredit, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank banks in Russia, on the request of a Russian fuel firm, we formally discovered on Saturday May 18.

The arbitration courtroom in St. Petersburg (northwest) ordered the seizure of actual property, securities and accounts belonging to the second largest Italian financial institution UniCredit, in Russia, within the quantity of 462.7 million euros, based on a call taken on May 16 by this judicial physique and obtainable on its official web site.

An analogous determination was taken the identical day in opposition to Deutsche Bank, Germany's primary financial institution, with the St. Petersburg Arbitration Court ordering the seizure of its actual property, securities and accounts for an quantity of 238.6 tens of millions of euros.

The courtroom additionally ordered the seizure of 93.7 million euros of Commerzbank's property, in addition to the financial institution's constructing in central Moscow.

The choices had been taken on the request of the Russian firm RusChemAlliance, based on the identical supply.

Projects fell by means of after the struggle in Ukraine

Co-founded specifically by the Russian fuel big Gazprom to construct a serious fuel processing and liquefaction plant in Ust-Luga, close to Saint Petersburg, the corporate noticed its associate – the German firm Linde, imagined to ship gear for development – withdraw from the challenge after the launch of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in 2022 and the implementation of Western sanctions in opposition to Moscow.

UniCredit and Deutsche Bank, which had been guarantor banks for this challenge, had been additionally unable to satisfy their obligations to RusChemAlliance as a result of sanctions.

In the summer time of 2023, the Russian firm filed a criticism with the St. Petersburg arbitration courtroom demanding that the 2 banks pay it a whole lot of tens of millions of euros from their financial institution ensures offered for of their commitments.

Read additionallyWar in Ukraine: when European justice guidelines in favor of two Russian billionaires

“We will have to see how this request is implemented by the Russian courts and assess the immediate operational impact in Russia,” Deutsche Bank responded in a press release.

For its half, UniCredit claimed to be “aware of the Russian court's decision” and guaranteed it was “examining in detail” the scenario.

UniCredit, which is among the many European banks most uncovered to Russia, started “preliminary” discussions in May 2022 with a view to a doable sale of its Russian subsidiary, however the challenge appears to have stalled since. The Italian financial institution has been current in Russia since 2005.

The courtroom additionally ordered the seizure of 93.7 million euros in property from Commerzbank, additionally guarantor lenders within the context of the contract to construct the fuel processing plant in Russia with the German firm Linde. A financial institution constructing in central Moscow was additionally seized.

With AFP and Reuters