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US Court of Appeal dismisses ex-Yukos shareholders’ case

Former shareholders tried to collect $50 billion from Russia

WASHINGTON, December 2. /TASS/. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided to dismiss a case by former Yukos shareholders trying to overrule a lower court’s decision to uphold Moscow’s November 2020 motion to suspend a trial in which the former shareholders tried to recover $50 bln from Russia.

In mid-November, the former shareholders of Yukos asked the court to dismiss their appeal in connection with the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, which overturned the decision to collect $50 bln from Russia in their favor. Their petition stated that both parties agreed to terminate the case, determining the procedure for paying for the costs. One of the reasons for voluntary refusing the appeal was the decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, which on November 5 satisfied the cassation appeal of the Russian Federation and canceled the ruling of the Hague Court of Appeal from February 18, 2020. This ruling briefly restored the 2014 arbitration decisions to recover from the Russian Federation $50 bln in favor of former majority shareholders of Yukos.

In late 2020, the plaintiffs appealed to the US court to overturn a lower court ruling that granted Moscow's November motion to suspend a trial in which they are seeking to recover $50 bln from Russia.

Yukos case

The international arbitration, created through the mediation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, after 10 years of consideration of the case in 2014 ordered Russia to pay more than $50 bln to companies associated with former Yukos shareholders: Yukos Universal, Hulley Enterprises, and Veteran Petroleum.

This verdict was appealed in the District Court of The Hague, which sided with Moscow, declaring the arbitration awards invalid in April 2016 and removing Russia's obligations to pay the said amount.

However, in February 2020, the higher instance - the Hague Court of Appeal - overturned the district court's verdict and reinstated the arbitral awards, obliging the Russian Federation to pay more than $50 bln. It was reported in May 2020, that Russia had filed a cassation appeal against this decision to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

The Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Hague Court of Appeal, satisfying Russia’s cassation appeal on one point, namely, that former shareholders of Yukos committed fraud during the arbitration proceedings. Now the Amsterdam Court of Appeal must reconsider the decision concerning this point. Appeals on other points, including those related to interpreting provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty, were rejected and decisions on them were declared final.