Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleJPMorgan secured a UK court ruling to block VTB's $156 million lawsuits, citing a breach of arbitration agreement. The case is part of broader legal disputes.
LONDON (Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase on Thursday won its bid to block Russia's VTB Bank suing it in Russia over nearly $156 million, in the latest case brought at London's High Court to try and stop Russian litigation.
The U.S. lender took legal action in London last year after VTB sued it in Russia, seeking $155.8 million after VTB was hit by Western sanctions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which prompted JPMorgan to freeze VTB funds in various accounts.
JPMorgan argued that VTB's Russian lawsuits were in breach of their previous agreement to settle any disputes through arbitration and applied for an anti-suit injunction in London, to prevent VTB pursuing its case in Russia.
Judge David Foxton ruled in JPMorgan's favour on Thursday, saying in a written ruling that VTB's pursuit of its lawsuits in Russia was "vexatious and oppressive".
JPMorgan declined to comment. VTB Bank had no immediate comment.
The dispute in London is just one strand of JPMorgan and VTB's legal battle, which has also prompted litigation in New York.
JPMorgan is the latest financial institution to turn to courts in the West to try and stop litigation brought in Russia.
In February, UniCredit won a bid to overturn an anti-suit injunction the Italian bank had obtained against a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, citing a potential 250 million euro fine it faced in Russia.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; additional reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
JPMorgan Chase won its bid to block Russia's VTB Bank from suing it in Russia over nearly $156 million.
VTB Bank was seeking $155.8 million after being impacted by Western sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
JPMorgan argued that VTB's lawsuits breached their agreement to settle disputes through arbitration and sought an anti-suit injunction in London.
Judge David Foxton ruled that VTB's pursuit of lawsuits in Russia was 'vexatious and oppressive'.
This dispute is part of a larger trend where financial institutions are turning to Western courts to block litigation initiated in Russia.
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