A St. Petersburg court on Wednesday ordered the freezing of funds owned by the American banking giant JPMorgan Chase in Russia. The ruling came in favor of the country’s second-largest lender, VTB, which launched a lawsuit to recover $439.5 million frozen abroad due to U.S.-led sanctions.
On April 17, VTB sued JPMorgan and its subsidiaries at the arbitration court of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad region, according to court filings on Monday. The order was aimed at funds and “movable and real estate” in JPMorgan’s accounts in Russia, including the bank’s share in the Russian subsidiary.
At the heart of the dispute is the $439.5 million in funds held by VTB in an American account of JPMorgan, which Washington blocked in 2022 as part of sanctions related to Ukraine.
The court ordered the seizure of all funds in JPMorgan’s bank accounts in Russia, including correspondent accounts and accounts opened in the name of the subsidiary.
It also turned out that VTB requested temporary measures because the defendants “took measures to withdraw their assets from Russia”, while the Russian creditor tried to recover the money from the American bank.
JPMorgan sought to block the Russian bank’s efforts in its own lawsuit filed against VTB in the Southern District of New York last week, arguing that US law prohibits the bank from releasing the $439.5 million it owns.
JPMorgan fears that VTB will try to seize its assets in Russia Reuters reported on Wednesday with reference to the American lender.
The Wall Street bank acknowledged to the news agency that VTB’s prospects are good as Russian courts have granted relief to at least six other local lenders against US and EU banks required to comply with sanctions laws.
The next hearing in the JPMorgan case is scheduled for July 17.
