A Russian court has ordered the seizure of Deutsche Bank’s assets, accounts, property, and shares in Russia. This decision is part of a lawsuit involving the German bank. The court documents reveal that the lawsuit was filed by RusChemAlliance, a St. Petersburg-based joint venture, half-owned by the Russian gas giant Gazprom.
The issue began when Western sanctions led to the termination of a contract for constructing a gas processing plant in Russia. Deutsche Bank was one of the guarantor lenders for this project.
Due to these sanctions, Germany’s Linde, the main contractor, had to stop its work on the plant, which led to the current legal actions.
The St. Petersburg arbitration court has ruled that Deutsche Bank is barred from exercising its full ownership of its Russian subsidiary and Deutsche Bank Technology Center LLC.
In addition, the court has ordered the seizure of up to 238.6 million euros (about $259 million) in various assets. These include securities, real estate, and bank accounts belonging to Deutsche Bank and its Russian entities.
Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt has stated that it had already set aside around 260 million euros to cover potential losses from this case. The bank mentioned, “We will need to see how this claim is implemented by the Russian courts and assess the immediate operational impact in Russia.”
In a related development, the Russian court has also ordered the seizure of assets, accounts, and property of another bank, UniCredit, along with shares in its two subsidiaries, as part of a similar lawsuit. This indicates a broader legal strategy affecting foreign banks operating in Russia amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and economic sanctions.
This situation reflects the complex legal and financial challenges foreign companies face in Russia, especially those from countries imposing sanctions on Russia.
The outcome of these legal proceedings will likely have significant implications for Deutsche Bank’s operations in Russia and possibly for other foreign businesses in similar positions.
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