Russian court orders Commerzbank assets be awarded to pipeline firm

FILE PHOTO: A Commerzbank logo is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, February 12, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski//File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court has ordered that Commerzbank assets worth 94.9 million euros ($101.86 million) be awarded in damages to a company overseeing construction of a gas processing plant in northwest Russia, court documents showed.

Commerzbank was one of the guarantor lenders under a contract for the construction of the gas processing plant in Ust-Luga with Germany's Linde. The deal was terminated due to Western sanctions.

St Petersburg-based RusChemAlliance, a joint venture 50%-owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom which is the operator of the project, has filed several lawsuits seeking damages from Western banks.

Almost all of the assets involved had already been seized by court order.

Commerzbank, in reply to a request for comment from Reuters, said it did not comment on cases before the courts or on relationships with clients.

"Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine Commerzbank has significantly restricted its business activities in Russia, reduced its risks and its customer relationships and stopped its new business," a Commerzbank spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Commerzbank operated within legal and regulatory requirements and adhered to sanctions.

($1 = 0.9317 euros)

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; editing by Jason Neely and Sandra Maler)