MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. The Amsterdam District Court has frozen the assets of South Stream Transport B.V. (owned by Gazprom), the operator of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, in a lawsuit filed by DTEK Krymenergo, part of Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov's SCM Group, based on court files.
In 2015, following Crimea's reunification with Russia, DTEK Krymenergo's assets were nationalized. The Ukrainian company subsequently initiated international arbitration, citing the mutual investment protection treaty between Russia and Ukraine. On November 1, 2023, the Hague Tribunal ordered Russia to pay $207.8 mln in compensation, with interest accruing until actual payment. In response, Russia challenged the arbitration's jurisdiction and filed a petition with the High Court of London to quash or suspend enforcement of the award.
Back in July of this year, the court, at the request of DTEK Krymenergo, issued a writ of execution to seize all funds and assets of South Stream Transport B.V. in ABN Amro Bank N.V. as part of security for the claim against Russia.
Following this, the Turkish Stream operator first appealed to DTEK Krymenergo for a voluntary lifting of the seizure, and in August, it demanded in an Amsterdam court that the restrictions be lifted, or at least that DTEK Krymenergo be compelled to do so under penalty of a fine, as well as that the Ukrainian company be prohibited from imposing further seizures on the property. However, the court rejected this request and ordered South Stream Transport B.V. to pay an additional 1,999 euros in legal costs.
South Stream Transport B.V. is the operator of the TurkStream offshore gas pipeline, which transports natural gas from Russia across the Black Sea to consumers in Turkey and Europe. The company is registered in the Netherlands.