5/18/2024–|Last updated: 5/18/202407:44 PM (Mecca time)
A Russian court ordered the confiscation of the assets, accounts and property of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in Russia as part of a lawsuit involving the two German banks, according to court documents.
The two banks were one of the guarantor lenders under a contract to build a gas processing plant in Russia with the German company Linde, which was terminated due to Western sanctions.
The lawsuit was filed by St. Petersburg-based Roskem Alliance, a joint venture in which the Russian gas giant Gazprom holds a 50% stake. The gas processing project is managed by Roskem Alliance.
The St. Petersburg Arbitration Court prevented Deutsche Bank from disposing of its 100% share in the authorized capital of its Russian subsidiary, as well as the Deutsche Bank Technology Center.
The court also decided to confiscate up to 238.6 million euros ($259 million) worth of securities, real estate and bank accounts of Deutsche Bank, in addition to its Russian subsidiary and the Deutsche Bank Technology Center.
Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt said it had already allocated about 260 million euros to this case.
“We will need to see how the Russian courts implement this claim and assess the immediate operational impact in Russia,” the bank added in a statement.
The court also ruled to confiscate Commerzbank’s assets worth 93.7 million euros ($101.85 million), in addition to its securities and the bank’s building in central Moscow.
The court had previously frozen bank accounts and assets belonging to the Italian bank UniCredit in Russia. The freeze extended to other banks.
Roskem Alliance wants 444 million euros from UniCredit, and assets worth 463 million euros are scheduled to be frozen.
