Russia seizes real estate, securities and accounts in Russia for the amount 462.7 million euros the second largest Italian bank UniCredit. A similar decision was made on the same day against Deutsche Bank, the largest German bank. The seizure order applies to his real estate, securities and accounts for the amount 238.6 million euros. Both decisions were made at the request of the Russian gas giant Gazprom concern RusChemAlliancewhich intended to build a large gas processing and liquefaction plant near Saint Petersburg.
“We will have to see how the Russian court will implement this request and assess the direct operational impact in Russia.”
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company lost its partner – the German company Linde, which was supposed to provide equipment for the project. UniCredit and Deutsche Bank were guarantors of this project, but due to sanctions they were unable to fulfill their obligations to RusChemAlliance.
In the summer of 2023, the Russian company filed a complaint with the arbitration court in Saint Petersburg, demanding that both banks pay hundreds of millions of euros in bank guarantees provided for in the obligations.
“We will have to see how the Russian court will implement this request and assess the direct operational consequences in Russia,” Deutsche Bank reacted in a press release. In turn, UniCredit stated that it was “aware of the Russian court's decision” and assured that it was “examining” the situation in detail.
UniCredit, previously one of the European banks most actively operating in Russia, began “preliminary” talks in May 2022 on the possible sale of its Russian subsidiary, but the project has stalled. The Italian bank has been present in Russia since 2005.
