Russia freezes Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, UniCredit assets

A Russian court has

frozen

the local

assets

of Germany's Deutsche Bank AG and

Commerzbank

AG, and Italy's

UniCredit

SpA under lawsuits totalling over $1.09 billion filed by a Gazprom PJSC venture.
The Arbitration Court of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad region arrested assets of Munich-registered UniCredit Bank AG and Moscow-based UniCredit Bank AO as part of the suit from RusKhimAlians, according to court documents dated May 16.

Stakes in two other Russia-based related companies were frozen, along with real estate and cash in bank accounts. The court also froze securities owned by Deutsche Bank in Russia.
The joint enterprise between Russia's state-run natural gas giant and smaller producer Rusgazdobycha launched more than $1 billion in legal claims against European banks that backed a key natural gas project caught up in sanctions against Russia.