UniCredit Succeeds As London Court Of Appeal Overturns Order Against RusKhimAlyans
UniCredit Succeeds As London Court Of Appeal Overturns Order Against RusKhimAlyans
The company had sued the lender in August 2023 after the latter refused to pay bank guarantees linked to the project
Italian multinational banking group, UniCredit has won a bid in London’s Court of Appeal to overturn an injunction against Russian energy giant Gazprom’s subsidiary, RusKhimAlyans.
UniCredit had refused to pay bank guarantees due to Western sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, raising the potential of a 250 million euro fine in Russia.
RusKhimAlyans filed several lawsuits in the Russian courts after the country's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions halted work in 2022 on a liquefied natural gas plant at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga.
The company, 50 percent owned by Gazprom, sued UniCredit in August 2023 after the latter refused to pay bank guarantees linked to the project.
The Italian bank obtained an anti-suit injunction in London, preventing RusKhimAlyans from pursuing its case in Russia.
In 2024, the order was upheld by the UK Supreme Court.
However, UniCredit asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the order as RusKhimAlyans obtained its anti-suit injunction in Russia, citing a potential 250 million-euro ($258 million) fine if UniCredit did not discharge its injunction.
