Rusal vs Germany: Aluminium giants threaten legal action over VTB Bank liquidation

In April 2025, Russian aluminium producer United Co. RUSAL (Rusal) publicly warned that it would pursue legal action against Germany after a German takeover of a bank disrupted a currency‐hedging deal. The bank in question was VTB Bank (Europe) SE – the Frankfurt-based subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned VTB Bank – which German authorities effectively took over in April 2022 amid EU sanctions on Russia. A German-appointed trustee later liquidated the bank (renamed OWH SE) in 2023, and by August 2024, its licence was revoked.This AI-generated image is used for representational purposes only

Rusal says this sequence of events illegally expropriated its subsidiary’s rights under a hedging contract, culminating in a London arbitration award ordering Rusal to pay EUR 213 million to the bank’s liquidators. Rusal has now threatened an investment treaty claim against Germany, arguing that Germany’s actions (through BaFin and the courts) amounted to unlawful confiscation of its business.