MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. The Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region blocked JPMorgan’s funds totaling $439.5 mln as part of interim measures in a lawsuit filed by VTB against JPMorgan entities in Russia, according to the arbitration cases file.

The court also blocked any securities held by JPMorgan’s entities in Russia. The court also blocked participation interests in JPMorgan’s entities in Russia owned by J.P. Morgan Limited.

It was reported earlier that the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region approved interim measures within the framework of the case of recovering about $440 mln in favor of VTB from entities of JPMorgan.

JPMorgan in its turn also applied to court against VTB with a claim to terminate its efforts of recovering $440 mln. The action was filed to the federal court of Manhattan.

VTB was hit by US and UK sanctions in spring 2022 and EU sanctions were also introduced against it. Restrictions provide for assets freezing and the ban on transactions of individuals and legal entities from these countries with the Russian bank.