Ukraine's Oschadbank loses case vs Russia on compensation of Crimean assets

The Court of Appeal of Paris has overturned a decision by the investment arbitration in the Oschadbank vs Russia case, ruling that the arbitration court had no jurisdiction over Ukraine's state-run Oschadbank's illegally expropriated assets in Russia-occupied Crimea.

The court handed down the ruling on March 30, 2021, the Ukrainian media outlet European Pravda wrote on Tuesday.

Read alsoUkraine's Oschadbank receives execution writs to recover compensation from Russia over CrimeaRussia has appealed against the decision on compensation for losses to the National Court at the place of arbitration. On March 30, the Court of Appeal upheld one of the Russians' claims and overturned the arbitral tribunal's decision.

The Investment Protection Agreement, under which the Ukrainian side filed its lawsuit, became effective in Ukraine on January 1, 1992, whereas Oschadbank started operating in Crimea before that date, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The court's recent ruling can be appealed in the Court of Cassation of France.

The Russian Justice Ministry has already announced its victory in the case. The ministry's reports contain misinformation, the publication said.

European Pravda sources and official reports about the said decision indicate the falsity of the Russian Federation's statements that it would allegedly set a precedent for other cases involving Ukrainian investors, which are being considered by arbitration and state courts in European jurisdictions.

Background

• The Russian Federation in March 2014 seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula after an internationally unrecognized referendum.
• As of August 7, 2014, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) ordered Ukrainian banks to suspend all types of financial transactions in the regions not controlled by the Ukraine government.
• In November 2018, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris handed down an unprecedented ruling to recover from Russia in favor of Oschadbank monetary compensation for losses resulting from the occupation of Crimea.
• In July 2019, it became known that Russia had challenged in French courts the international arbitration's ruling to recover US$1.1 billion in favor of the Ukrainian Oschadbank and the interest accrued since March 2014.