MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In July 2014, Europe’s top human rights court ruled that Russia must pay about $2 billion to shareholders of Yukos, declared bankrupt in 2006 and absorbed into state-owned Rosneft energy giant. The Russian Justice Ministry refused to follow the ECHR ruling.
The ministers expressed "serious concern" that no plan had been submitted by the Russian authorities in respect of the "distribution of the just satisfaction awarded for pecuniary damage," as required by the present judgment.
The ministers "consequently, strongly urged the Russian authorities to present the required plan without further delay," the committee said in a press release.
The core of the controversy is the fact that Yukos' managers claimed that the Russian government had illegally forced the company out of business, which allegedly allowed Rosneft to snap up its assets and become the country’s largest oil producer.
The Russian Justice Ministry refused to follow ECHR ruling because compliance would put the ministry in breach of Russia’s constitution. The ministry appealed against the ruling, arguing that it was neither fair nor impartial.
