The court in Belgium overturned the arrests of the Russian property at the suit of the former shareholders of Yukos
Moscow. June 9. INTERFAX.RU the Court in Belgium overturned the arrests, imposed earlier in the country of the Russian property at the suit of the former shareholders of Yukos, have informed “Interfax” Andrey Kondakov — head of the International centre for the legal protection (MTSPZ), representing the interests of the Russian Federation in this dispute.
“The decision of the court of first instance of Brussels, removed all the arrests of the Russian property in Belgium. The entire property (RF — if) is exempt, and exempt property, arrested by mistake — (the branches of the Russian news agencies — Interfax), ITAR-TASS and RIA-news” Kondakov said on Friday “Interfax”.
“This is a victory for the Russian side. We freed all Russian assets,” — said the lawyer.
The claims of former shareholders
In 2005, subsidiaries of Group Menatep Limited — Hulley Enterprises (Cyprus) and Yukos Universal Limited (O. man) who owned a total of 51% of Yukos, has filed a lawsuit against Russia in the Hague court with a demand to recover damages in the amount of $28.3 billion the Total amount of claims to the Russian Federation with consideration of claim Yukos pension Fund Veteran Petroleum Ltd. was $33.1 billion In consequence of the amount of compensation was increased.
In July 2014, the Hague, the arbitration has satisfied claims of these companies and ordered Russia to pay $50 billion In November 2014, Russia filed in the District court of the Hague three applications for cancellation of arbitral awards. However, in June-August 2015 ex-Yukos shareholders, without waiting for the decision on the complaint of the Federation began the process of enforcement in the courts of the United States, France, Belgium, Germany and the UK of the decision of the Hague court.
April 20, 2016 District court of the Hague quashed the award. Thus, according to Kondakov, the District court granted the petition of Russia on the basis of one of the six presented arguments as being convincing and deciding not to waste time considering the other five.
At the end of July last year, Kondakov said that the protection of the plaintiffs withdrew claims about the arrest of Russian assets filed in the courts of Germany and India.
He also expressed the hope that “the face of probable losses in the courts of other jurisdictions for a similar solution, without delaying the case indefinitely, will be adopted in the USA, UK, France and Belgium.”
At the end of September 2016, the former Yukos shareholders refused from the idea to arrest the construction of a Russian spiritual and cultural complex on the waterfront in Paris, as part of a claim for compensation.
Later the court of appeal of Paris overturned the arrests of the French assets of three Russian Federal state unitary enterprises, imposed by the same claims.
In December it became known that a court in Sweden refused to the former shareholders of Yukos from Spain in the complaint for cancellation of the decision to pay them $2 million in compensation.