“Naftogaz” filed a lawsuit in the USA to collect $5 billion from Russia for assets in Crimea

Author:
Sofiia Telishevska
Date:

OJSC “Naftogaz of Ukraine” and five other companies of the “Naftogaz Group” filed a petition with the US Federal District Court in the District of Columbia to confirm the decision of the Arbitration Tribunal, which ordered Russia to pay $5 billion (including interest) in compensation for damages and lost property of Naftogaz " in Crimea.

This was reported by the head of the “Naftogaz Group” Oleksiy Chernyshov.

According to him, such a request became possible because arbitral awards can be enforced through the enforcement mechanism. According to the New York Convention of 1958, “Naftogaz” has the right to start the process of recognition and admission to enforcement of the decision on the territory of those states where there are assets of the Russian Federation.

“Since Russia has not voluntarily paid ʼNaftogazʼ the funds stipulated by the Arbitration decision, we intend to use all available mechanisms to recover these funds. Now we are working on it in the United States and other target jurisdictions,” Chernyshov noted.

Under the US law, confirmation of an arbitral award is mandatory unless a court finds that one of the limited grounds for refusing or delaying recognition or enforcement of an arbitral award set forth in the New York Convention exists. At the same time, the interest provided for non-payment of funds in accordance with the arbitration decision will be calculated until the full payment of compensation according to the court decision.

  • On April 12, 2023, the Arbitration Tribunal at the Permanent Chamber of the Arbitration Court in The Hague ordered Russia to pay $5 billion in compensation for losses caused by the seizure of assets of the “Naftogaz Group” companies in Crimea in 2014.