In a recent development, a Russian court has made a significant decision regarding the assets of Deutsche Bank and UniCredit within Russia, as per documents unveiled.
Following Russia’s military actions in Kyiv in 2022, numerous European banks opted to withdraw from the Russian market. Documents dated May 16 reveal that a court in Saint Petersburg has ruled in favor of seizing 239 million euros ($260 million) from Deutsche Bank.
Simultaneously, the court mandated the seizure of approximately 463 million euros worth of assets from Italy’s UniCredit. These legal actions were initiated in response to a request from RusKhimAlians, a company planning a substantial gas processing and liquefaction facility in collaboration with Germany’s Linde. Linde withdrew from the project due to Russia’s military activities.
UniCredit and Deutsche Bank, both project guarantors, faced legal action from RusKhimAlians. UniCredit, in particular, held considerable exposure to Russia, operating a substantial local subsidiary in the country when Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine in 2022.
Although UniCredit initiated talks on a potential sale last year, progress has been minimal. CEO Andrea Orcel expressed the desire to disengage from Russia. However, he highlighted concerns about gifting an operation valued at three billion euros as conflicting with the essence of Western sanctions against Moscow regarding the conflict.
Despite these challenges, UniCredit has steadily reduced its exposure to Russia and managed to elevate its capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio to 16 percent, up from 15 percent the previous year.