Russian court seizes $13m from JPMorgan, Commerzbank

A Moscow court authorised the seizure of a staggering 12.4 million euros ($13.34 million) of assets held in Russia by a European subsidiary of the financial titan JPMorgan and Germany’s renowned Commerzbank, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The court’s decision, made on April 26, was in response to a case brought forward by Russia’s own Transkapitalbank. This bank had found itself under the crushing weight of Western sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On April 20, 2022, the US Treasury introduced sanctions against the plaintiff, Transkapitalbank. This move had sent ripples of worry through Western banks and other companies that had long feared for their funds and property in Russia since the war’s onset and Russia’s retaliatory actions post-sanctions were imposed.

Russia’s response to the Western sanctions was swift and decisive, as they seized assets, installed new management at Western companies’ subsidiaries, and forced firms leaving the country to sell at massive discounts. The business landscape was changing rapidly.

About 1,000 companies had already exited the country. Yet, hundreds of companies, including the French retailer Auchan and Benetton, were still operating or had put their businesses on hold there, as per an analysis by the Yale School of Management.

Transkapitalbank remained silent, not immediately responding to emailed questions about the case. JPMorgan and Commerzbank, both of which had reduced their presence in Russia, declined to comment.

The news of the ruling spread, first reported by Interfax last week and then picked up by German media, including Handelsblatt, this week. The story continues to unfold, with its final chapters yet to be written.