Linde case: UniCredit files a lawsuit to recover 460 million
Piazza Gae Aulenti is taking legal action alongside other European banks
Major European banks are taking Linde to court over the RusChemAlliance case, in an attempt to recover hundreds of millions of euros’ worth of assets seized by Russian courts. The banks involved include Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and Commerzbank.
The case concerns the Ust-Luga gas project in north-western Russia. It dates back to 2021, when the Linde Engineering group signed contracts with RusChemAlliance, a joint venture in which Gazprom holds a stake, to build a gas processing and liquefied natural gas plant. The total value of the project was around 10 billion euros.
Following the invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of European sanctions against Moscow, Linde suspended work on the project. RusChemAlliance then asked the guarantor banks to honour the guarantees linked to the project. However, the banks refused to pay, arguing that doing so could have breached EU sanctions.
The Russian courts responded by seizing approximately one billion euros’ worth of assets held by the banks in Russia. For UniCredit, the figure stands at around 460 million euros. Deutsche Bank lost around 244 million, Commerzbank around 90 million, BayernLB around 270 million and LBBW around 50 million.
The banks are now seeking to take legal action against Linde in the German courts. According to the Financial Times, the first hearing is due to take place on Tuesday in Frankfurt. Deutsche Bank is seeking compensation of around 260 million euros from Linde.
