A court in St. Petersburg has frozen the assets of several banks, including Deutsche Bank and Unicredit, at the request of RusChimAllianz. RusChimAllianz, a Gazprom subsidiary operating an LNG terminal on the Baltic Sea, is making claims against Deutsche Bank for 238.61 million euros and against Unicredit for 444 million euros. The court blocked assets such as securities, real estate, and money in accounts belonging to these banks and other companies with their participation.
These actions stem from the collapsed construction of the terminal due to Western sanctions. In 2021, RusChimAllianz entered into a contract with the German industrial group Linde and construction company Renaissance Heavy Industries to build the plant. After the war in Ukraine, Linde halted work on the project due to sanctions, leading to the withdrawal of guarantees by banks like Deutsche Bank, Unicredit, Commerzbank, Bayerische Landesbank, and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg.
RusChimAllianz is seeking additional funds from Unicredit beyond its initial claim of 444 million euros. The company also entered into a contract with Italian construction firm Costain Srl to build a pipeline connecting Russia with Italy. This project was also affected by sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia’s energy sector. As a result of these actions, Italian companies have suffered significant losses in investments in Russia as well.
Unicredit does not have extensive branches in Russia but faces financial implications due to the frozen assets. German companies have suffered significant losses in investments in Russia as a result of the sanctions imposed by Western countries.
In conclusion, these actions highlight how foreign companies can suffer significant financial losses when working with Russian partners due to international sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia’s economy.
