Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank block Gazprom subsidiary's Russian lawsuits

Global Blue Holding

11/10/2023 13:40

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank  DBKGn.DE  and
Commerzbank  CBKG.DE  have won an injunction in London stopping
a subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom  GAZP.MM  from suing
the lenders in Russia over an aborted gas project.
    RusKhimAlyans, which is 50% owned by Gazprom, filed lawsuits
in Russia seeking more than 22 billion roubles ($22 million)
from Deutsche Bank and over 8 billion roubles from Commerzbank
over unpaid bank guarantees.
    The lawsuits were brought after German industrial gases
company Linde  LIN.N   LINI.DE  stopped work on a liquefied
natural gas (LNG) plant at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga in 2022
due to Western sanctions, imposed after Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
    Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank both said they were unable to
pay RusKhimAlyans due to European Union sanctions.
    They have now each been granted an "anti-suit injunction"
preventing RusKhimAlyans – named RusChemAlliance in court
filings – from pursuing its case against the banks in Russia,
according to two rulings published on Wednesday.
    Deutsche Bank was granted the injunction on Sep. 7 by the
Court of Appeal, which ruled RusKhimAlyans' Russian lawsuit was
brought in breach of an arbitration agreement.
    Commerzbank was granted an interim injunction by the High
Court on Aug. 31, according to a judgment published on
Wednesday. 
    The ruling said UniCredit  UCCDB.UL  had also been granted
an anti-suit injunction against RusKhimAlyans following a
private hearing.
    Deutsche Bank and RusKhimAlyans declined to comment.
Commerzbank and UniCredit did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
    RusKhimAlyans had signed a deal with Linde in 2021 for the
construction of the gas plant, with Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank
and UniCredit providing guarantees.
    Linde halted work on the project in May 2022, having been
advised that the export of LNG would breach European Union
sanctions.
    RusKhimAlyans has also sued Linde in Russia, where a court
in January ordered nearly $500 million of Linde's assets be
frozen.

 (Reporting by Sam Tobin
Additional reporting by Sinead Cruise in London and Vladimir
Soldatkin in Moscow
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((Sam.Tobin@thomsonreuters.com;))