Russia Appeals Rulings on Lawsuit by Ex-Yukos Shareholders

Russia lodged three appeals with the District Court of the Hague against decisions by international arbitration in three separate cases initiated by former majority shareholders of the Yukos company.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia has filed three separate appeals in the District Court of the Hague on rulings by an international arbitration court awarding former shareholders of the now-defunct Yukos oil company with $50 billion, the Finance Ministry said in a statement Friday.

"The Russian Ministry of Finance notifies that on January 28, 2015, the Russian Federation lodged three appeals with the District Court of the Hague against decisions by international arbitration in three separate cases initiated by former majority shareholders of the Yukos company on the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty," the statement said.

On July 18, 2014, the arbitral tribunals at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ordered Russia to pay a cumulative $50 billion to ex-Yukos shareholders Hulley Enterprises Limited (Cyprus), Yukos Universal Limited (Isle of Man) and Veteran Petroleum Limited (Cyprus).

Yukos, formerly controlled by oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was declared bankrupt by a Moscow court of arbitration in 2006. Khodorkovsky spent a decade in prison for fraud and tax evasion until he was pardoned in December 2013.

Yukos managers claimed the Russian government had illegally forced the energy company out of business, which allowed Rosneft oil giant to snap up its assets and become the country's largest oil producer. Over the past few years, Yukos managers and investors have won several cases against Russia and the companies that acquired the assets.