A Moscow court has authorized the seizure of assets of Commerzbank and a European subsidiary of the major US bank JP Morgen in Russia.

The assets of the two banks in question amount to around 12.4 million euros. The court already ruled in favor of an application by the Russian Transkapitalbank on 26 April. The "Handelsblatt" had previously reported on this on Tuesday. The Russian bank had fallen under Western sanctions in 2022 following the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The application was based on the fact that the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against the plaintiff on April 20, 2022, according to a court document.

Transkapitalbank did not respond to inquiries about the case. JP Morgan and Commerzbank declined to comment. Interfax had already reported on the preliminary ruling last week.

Western banks and companies are increasingly concerned about their property and assets in Russia after the country reacted to the imposition of Western sanctions with retaliatory measures. These include the confiscation and seizure of assets and the appointment of new managers to the subsidiaries of Western companies. Companies leaving the country are also forced to sell their Russian businesses at considerable discounts. Often only a symbolic rouble is paid.

According to an analysis by the Yale School of Management, around a thousand companies have already left Russia. However, hundreds of companies, including the French retailer Auchan and Benetton, are still operating in the country or have merely put their business there on hold. The European Central Bank (ECB) has repeatedly called on banks in the eurozone to end their involvement in Russia and withdraw from the Russian market.

(Report by Tom Sims; Edited by Frank Siebelt; Edited by Ralf Banser; If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)