Russian court ordered Italian bank UniCredit to pay 448.2 million euros ($479.44 million) in a case over an unsuccessful gas project filed by St Petersburg-based RusChemAlliance, a 50% Gazprom joint venture.
UniCredit was a guarantor lender under a deal to build a gas processing facility in Russia with Linde (LIN.DE), opens new tab, that was halted owing to Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war.
“The claim is satisfied in full,” the St. Petersburg Arbitration Court said.
UniCredit wouldn’t comment.
The court ordered the seizure of 462.7 million euros in UniCredit securities, real estate, accounts, and 100% of UniCredit Leasing and Garant shares in mid-May.
UniCredit Leasing and Garant are subsidiaries of AO UniCredit Bank, the Italian group’s Russian affiliate. UniCredit said earlier in May that the seizure only touched a portion of the Russian unit’s assets.
UniCredit’s Russian business pledged 50 billion roubles ($574 million) in Russian OFZ government bonds with RusChemAlliance after the asset seizure.
British Supreme Court website: RusChemAlliance paid a 2 billion euro advance payment on the 10 billion euro deal when the gas project was suspended.
On Linde’s behalf, UniCredit guaranteed RusChem.
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