Yukos shareholders v. Russia

Yukos shareholders v. Russia are several international court and arbitral cases seeking compensation from the government of Russia to the former shareholders of Yukos based on the claim that Russian courts were not acting in good faith in launching tax evasion criminal proceedings against Yukos, which led to the bankruptcy of the company.

The Yukos Oil Company's former shareholders and management filed a series of claims in courts and before arbitration panels in various countries, seeking compensation for their expropriation. The largest, for over $100 billion, was filed at the international Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2007[1][2] and resulted in the arbitrators awarding Yukos majority shareholders over US$50 billion in damages. This decision was appealed by Russia and overturned by the Hague's district court, before being upheld by the Court of Appeal of the Hague.[3] On 5 November 2021 the Dutch supreme court struck down the order for Russia to pay $50 billion to former shareholders and referred the case back to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal.[4]

Observers note the bad timing of the final rulings on the majority shareholders' claim for Russia amid the Ukrainian crisis. Russia intends to fight these decision of the international courts.[5][6][7]

US and Russian investors, representing about 15 percent and 5 percent of Yukos, respectively, lack the benefit of an investment treaty.[8] The sole remedy of US-based investors in seeking approximately $12 billion in redress[9] is to request the State Department and the Office of the United States Trade Representative to espouse the claim to their Russian counterparts, as it is determined by the Magnitsky Act of 2012;[10] State Department officials have reportedly raised Yukos investors' concerns at deputy prime minister level in the past.[11]

  1. ^ Gregory L. White (September 21, 2011), European Rights Court Delivers Split Yukos Ruling(subscription required) Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ Irina Reznik, Henry Meyer and Alex Sazonov (July 14, 2014), Khodorkovsky Partners Turn Hunters as $140 Billion Rulings Near Archived July 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Washington Post.
  3. ^ Puertas, Omar. "The Yukos Appeal Decision on the Role of Arbitral Tribunal's Secretaries". International Bar Association.
  4. ^ AFP, Danny Kemp for (2021-11-05). "Russia Wins Latest Round of $50-Bln Yukos Case". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  5. ^ Russia ordered to pay $50 billion over Yukos, Associated Press
  6. ^ Russia to appeal against $50bn Yukos shareholder payout, BBC
  7. ^ Russia Must Compensate Yukos Shareholders, Says European Court, The Wall Street Journal
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference goldhaber was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Megan Davies and Douglas Busvine (February 12, 2014), With Khodorkovsky out, Yukos investors fight on Reuters.
  10. ^ Yukos - GML Background Note Shearman & Sterling.
  11. ^ Megan Davies and Douglas Busvine (February 12, 2014), With Khodorkovsky out, Yukos investors fight on, Reuters, February 12, 2014.