Italian bank ordered to pay $480mn over scrapped Russian deal
A Russian court has ordered Italy’s UniCredit bank to pay nearly $480 million over a scrapped gas processing project Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
UniCredit, an Italian bank, has been directed by a Russian court to pay €448.2 million ($479.44 million) in connection with a failed joint venture involving Russian energy giant Gazprom and German company Linde. The legal action arises from the dissolution of a joint project to construct a gas processing facility in Ust Luga, near St. Petersburg. The venture, known as RusChemAlliance, was 50% owned by Gazprom and had UniCredit as one of its guarantor lenders. The project was terminated due to sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict. As a result of the dissolution, RusChemAlliance initiated legal proceedings against UniCredit for allegedly failing to fulfill its commitments. The St. Petersburg Arbitration Court has ruled in favor of RusChemAlliance, compelling UniCredit to make the specified payment.
Additionally, the same court has taken provisional measures against UniCredit, seizing assets amounting to €462.67 million ($494.4 million) from the bank's operations in Russia. UniCredit clarified that this seizure only affects a small portion of its Russian unit's assets, not the entire subsidiary. Despite several international banks leaving Russia due to Western sanctions relating to Ukraine, UniCredit has maintained its presence in the country. The bank's Russian subsidiary facilitates euro transactions with Russia and is identified as one of the 13 systemically important credit institutions by the Russian central bank. These legal actions have occurred in the context of increasingly stringent sanctions by the European Union, with the latest measures targeting Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), including a ban on the re-export of Russian LNG within the EU. Delivery of Russian LNG for internal EU use, however, remains unaffected by these measures.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
Additionally, the same court has taken provisional measures against UniCredit, seizing assets amounting to €462.67 million ($494.4 million) from the bank's operations in Russia. UniCredit clarified that this seizure only affects a small portion of its Russian unit's assets, not the entire subsidiary. Despite several international banks leaving Russia due to Western sanctions relating to Ukraine, UniCredit has maintained its presence in the country. The bank's Russian subsidiary facilitates euro transactions with Russia and is identified as one of the 13 systemically important credit institutions by the Russian central bank. These legal actions have occurred in the context of increasingly stringent sanctions by the European Union, with the latest measures targeting Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), including a ban on the re-export of Russian LNG within the EU. Delivery of Russian LNG for internal EU use, however, remains unaffected by these measures.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
