Russian Energy Company‌ Sues European Banks Over Sanctions-Related⁢ Disputes

RusChemAlliance, a ‍Russian energy company, has taken ⁢legal​ action against five European​ banks⁤ that halted financing for a gas​ project in ​Russia following Western sanctions.

The lawsuits, filed in the Arbitration Court of St. ⁣Petersburg, ⁤target ​Italian bank UniCredit ⁣and German ⁢banks Deutsche ⁤Bank, Commerzbank, ⁤Bayerische Landesbank, ⁣and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg.

RusChemAlliance, a joint venture⁣ co-owned by ‍Russian gas giant ​Gazprom, has also filed additional ‍claims against European banks after German industrial gases company Linde ceased ⁤work on a ⁢natural gas plant liquefied at Ust-Luga port in the Baltic in 2022.

A St. ‌Petersburg court has frozen some of Linde’s Russian assets and ordered the freezing ‌of assets ⁤outside Russia to recover losses related to the sudden halt in construction of a gas processing plant.

The same court previously ordered the​ five banks to pay compensation.

In a ⁣related⁢ development, at ‍least 19 companies from 11 ⁣European countries have filed lawsuits against Gazprom ⁣over breaches of gas‌ contracts, with total⁤ claims reaching €18.6 billion ($20.6 billion).