Stockholm Arbitration Court Refuses to Collect USD 6 Billion from Ukraine

The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has refused the three minority shareholders of PJSC Ukrnafta (Littop Enterprises, Bridgemont Ventures, and Bordo Managament) will not satisfy their claim against Ukraine for more than USD 6 billion and interest.

The owners of these three offshore companies are oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and his partners Hennadiy Boholiubov and Ihor Palytsia.

In a post on his Facebook page, Minister of Justice of Ukraine Denys Malyuska called the court ruling a super victory for the state.

“After almost six years of litigation, the arbitration completely refused them… The adjudication of the Stockholm arbitration was postponed several times. The plaintiffs seemed to suspect something and dragged out the process. But it has happened, and the arbitration recognised the lack of its jurisdiction,” the minister said.

At the same time, according to some Ukrainian media outlets, one of the arguments in the arbitration decision was that the plaintiffs’ alleged investments were related to “bribery and corruption,” which violates the principles of international public policy.

As a reminder, Ukrnafta’s minority shareholders filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in 2015, accusing Ukraine of causing damage due to the extraction of gas produced by Ukrnafta without payment or with payment at a reduced price, non-compliance by Naftogaz and Ukrtransgaz with court decisions, rapid increase in subsoil use rates, and reduction of quorum during meetings of joint stock companies.

In early 2018, it became known that the claims of minority shareholders increased from USD 4.7 billion to USD 5.5 billion. As a result, this amount increased to more than USD 6 billion.

Bohdan Marusyak