A consortium of Western banks headed by Germany’s Deutsche Bank has postponed the signing of a credit agreement with Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom due to the restraining order announced by a U.S. bankruptcy court on the property of Yukos Oil Company

A consortium of Western banks headed by Germany’s Deutsche Bank has postponed the signing of a credit agreement with Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom due to the restraining order announced by a U.S. bankruptcy court on the property of Yukos Oil Company. A Houston court placed a 10-day temporary restraining order, forbidding the auction on Sunday, Dec. 19, of a controlling stake in Yuganskneftegaz, the main production subsidiary of Yukos. The restraining order was specifically placed on Gazprom and the consortium of Western banks. According to the information provided by Russia’s Itar-Tass agency, which quoted high-ranking Western financial sources, the consortium made a decision to “freeze” the credit deal with Gazprom at least until a final decision is made by the Houston court. “This step is a forced one, because if the credit line is extended to Gazprom within the next 10 days the Western banks risk facing legal charges on U.S. territory. None of the banks want to find themselves in such a situation at the moment,” the source said.