Deutsche Bank and UniCredit bring sanctions loss claims against Linde
15 July 2026
New Africe/Shutterstock.comThe FT has reported that Deutsche Bank and UniCredit have brought claims against German gas company Linde to recover assets seized by courts in Russia.
In 2021, a consortium including Linde Engineering agreed to build a gas processing plant and an LNG plant for RusChemAlliance (RCA), a joint venture half-owned by Gazprom. RCA paid Linde more than €1bn in advance. Banks including Deutsche Bank and UniCredit issued advance payment and performance guarantees to RCA to secure Linde’s obligations.
EU sanctions forced Linde to suspend the project in 2022. The banks then refused to pay out under the guarantees, saying payment would breach EU sanctions. Russian courts ordered the seizure of about €1bn of the banks' Russian assets.
The banks had earlier obtained anti-suit injunctions from the English courts to stop RCA suing in Russia. This included UniCredit's case, in which the UK Supreme Court upheld the injunction. The banks withdrew the injunctions after Russian courts threatened heavy penalties.
The banks now argue Linde must compensate them under their contracts for the losses they sustained.
- Deutsche Bank is seeking about €260m. The case was heard on 14 July 2026 in Frankfurt.
- UniCredit is seeking about €450m. The case is at the pre-trial stage before the Munich Regional Court.
- Commerzbank has filed a separate claim for almost €100m. BayernLB has not sued Linde but has set aside a €285m provision.
