Deutsche Bank sets aside $273 million provision for Gazprom subsidiary's Russian lawsuits

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday that it had set aside a 258 million euro ($272.84 million) provision in the third quarter related to lawsuits by a subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM).

RusKhimAlyans, which is 50% owned by Gazprom, has filed lawsuits seeking a total of 31 billion roubles ($348 million) from Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), Russian court documents show.

Deutsche Bank said in its quarterly report that the bank has been unable to make the payment due to EU sanctions against Russia.

"The Russian court is expected to not recognize the EU sanctions as a basis for not making payment," Deutsche Bank said in explaining the provision.

The expense would be offset by guarantees with a third party, Deutsche said.

($1 = 0.9456 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Editing by Friederike Heine)