Russia has blocked the assets of the largest American bank

According to Tasnim news agency, citing Rashatoudi, a court in St. Petersburg issued a ruling on Wednesday, according to which the funds belonging to the largest American bank, JPMorgan Chase, will be blocked in Russia.

This court decision was issued in favor of the second largest Russian lender, VTB Bank. This bank has filed a lawsuit to recover its 439.5 million dollars, which was blocked in JP Morgan Bank due to US sanctions against Russia.

Published court documents show that VTB sued JP Morgan and its subsidiaries on April 17 in the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

The ruling targeted the funds in JPMorgan's Russian accounts and “movable and immovable properties,” including the bank's shares in one of its Russian subsidiaries.

The lawsuit is over $439.5 million in funds that VTB held in its account at JP Morgan Bank in the United States, which were frozen by Washington as part of Ukraine-related sanctions in 2022.

The court ordered the seizure of all funds in JPMorgan's bank accounts in Russia, including brokerage accounts and those opened in the name of one of its subsidiaries.

The documents also revealed that Russia's VTB Bank had asked the judicial authorities for quick and temporary action because the complainants were taking “actions to withdraw their assets” from Russia.

JP Morgan also sought to block the Russian bank's efforts last week in its lawsuit against VTB in the Southern District of New York, citing that US law prevents the bank from releasing $439.5 million of VTB's assets.

Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing JP Morgan, that the American lender is concerned that VTB will seize the bank's assets in Russia.

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