In a significant development, a St. Petersburg court has mandated the seizure of assets and accounts belonging to Germany’s Deutsche Bank in Russia. This action is part of a lawsuit filed by a Russian energy firm, following the bank’s withdrawal of guarantees for a gas processing plant construction project in the wake of Western sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The court order, which includes securities, real estate, and bank accounts of Deutsche Bank, its Russian subsidiary, and its technology hub, represents a seizure of up to €238.6 million ($259 million). This sum is only a portion of the bank’s assets in Russia.
Deutsche Bank, in response to the ruling, has stated that it is fully protected under an existing compensation agreement and is currently assessing the immediate operational impact in Russia.
In a separate lawsuit, the St. Petersburg court has also ordered the seizure of assets, accounts, and property belonging to Italy’s UniCredit bank, which is the second-largest foreign bank active in Russia.
The gas processing plant project, which was a part of the contract with the industrial firm Linde and Turkish construction company Renaissance Heavy Industries, was halted after Deutsche Bank and others withdrew their guarantees following the imposition of sanctions by the US and the EU.
RusChemAlliance, a Russian energy firm that is 50% owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom, has sued Deutsche Bank, claiming that it had paid advances to Linde for the plant to be built. The firm is seeking compensation for the damages incurred due to the halt in the project.
