The Russian court ordered the acquisition of assets of 2 abroad banks operating in Russia – the Italian UniCredit and the German Deutsche Bank, whose value is estimated at hundreds of millions of euros. This decision was made at the request of the Russian gas company RusChemAlliance, which was announced by the Russian judiciary on Saturday.
On May 16, the St. Petersburg arbitration court ordered that the property, securities and UniCredit accounts in Russia be occupied at EUR 462.7 million. On the same day a akin order was issued to Deutsche Bank, the largest German bank, concerning assets worth EUR 238,6 million.
These decisions were taken at the request of RusChemAlliance, which was founded by the Russian gas giant Gazprom. The company planned to build a large gas processing and liquefaction plant close St. Petersburg. However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company lost its partner – the German company Linde, who was to supply equipment for the project. UniCredit and Deutsche Bank were guarantors of this project, but due to the sanctions imposed on Russia they were incapable to meet their obligations to RusChemAlliance.
UniCredit and Deutsche Bank for years in Russia
In the summertime of 2023, RusChemAlliance filed a complaint with the St. Petersburg arbitration court, demanding that both banks pay hundreds of millions of euros from the bank guarantees provided for in the commitments.
Deutsche Bank responded in his press release to the court's decision, stating: "We will gotta see how the Russian court will implement this request and measure the direct operational effects in Russia". UniCredit, on the another hand, stated that he was “aware of the decision of the Russian court” and assured that he was “researching” the situation in detail.
Serious consequences
UniCredit, formerly 1 of the most active European banks operating in Russia, began in May 2022 a "preliminary" discussion on the possible sale of its Russian subsidiary, but the task was stuck in a dead end. The Italian bank has been present in Russia since 2005.
The decisions of the Saint Petersburg arbitration court may have crucial consequences for the activities of UniCredit and Deutsche Bank in Russia, especially in the context of global sanctions and political tensions.
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