Gazprom subsidiary must stop Russian lawsuit against UniCredit, UK Supreme Court rules

A subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom was on Tuesday ordered by the UK's Supreme Court to stop suing Italian bank UniCredit in Russia over an aborted gas project.

A subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom was on Tuesday ordered by the UK's Supreme Court to stop suing Italian bank UniCredit in Russia over an aborted gas project. RusKhimAlyans has launched a flurry of lawsuits in the Russian courts after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions halted work on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga in 2022.

The company which is 50% owned by Gazprom, sued UniCredit for around 450 million euros ($480 million) in August 2023 after the Italian bank refused to pay bank guarantees linked to the project, citing Western sanctions. UniCredit obtained an anti-suit injunction in London, preventing RusKhimAlyans from pursuing its case in Russia, on the grounds the parties' contract said they would take any disputes to arbitration in France.

RusKhimAlyans tried to overturn that decision at the UK's Supreme Court last week, arguing that UniCredit's attempts to block its Russian lawsuit should have been brought in France. But its appeal was dismissed on Tuesday, Judge Robert Reed announced. The court's full reasons will be published at a later date.

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