Dispute over debt arising from a bank's failure to release a letter of credit

The buyer deposited funds in a letter of credit to pay part of the purchase price for the property, but the bank refused to release it because of sanctions imposed on one of the payment recipients.

The claimant (the property seller) insisted on recovering the debt directly from the buyer, placing on the defendant all the financial risk of the authorized bank's failure to release the letter of credit.

We built a legal position based on the fact that the client had fully performed its obligations.  We established the defendant's lack of fault and argued the defendant was the wrong party in this dispute, since liability for the transfer failing to go through should rest with the bank.

The case is at the litigation stage; the position that the wrong party has been sued is being actively defended

The project is significant for protecting the client from unjustified recovery amid force-majeure circumstances triggered by international sanctions, and helps shape judicial approaches to allocating liability between the parties to a transaction and financial institutions.

Disputes arising from settlements under a letter of credit (Art. 872 of the Civil Code); disputes under real-estate sale contracts; defense against claims where banks have blocked payments due to sanctions; proving a buyer's proper performance of its obligations.