Reuters reported that the Ukrainian National Energy Corporation Naftogaz has just won an important legal victory in France in its bid to demand compensation from Russia for assets seized in Crimea in 2014.
The Paris Court of Justice has recognized the international referee's decision worth 5 billion USD of the Hague Arbitration Court (Netherlands), paving the way for Naftogaz to start legal procedures to enforce the judgment in France.
In April 2023, the arbitration court ruled in favor of Russia to pay Naftogaz a reported US$5 billion in damages for the group's "illegal appropriation" of assets after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
After 2 years, Naftogaz affirmed: "The Paris Court of Justice has recognized and allowed the execution of a landmark arbitration award worth 5 billion USD against the Russian Federation in French territory".
The statement emphasized that this was a "key legal victory in the group's global enforcement campaign".
Under legal procedures, Naftogaz has registered to mortgage Russian state-owned assets in France worth more than 120 million euros ($136 million). This is considered the first step towards implementing the referee's verdict.
CEO Roman Chumak said that Naftogaz continues to coordinate in enforcing judgments in many countries, including successful steps in the UK and Finland.
He affirmed: "The Group remains steadfast in its efforts to recover all the value of the judgment and protect the rights of Ukrainian state-owned enterprises in the international arena".
As of the time of the announcement, the Paris Court, Russia and the Gazprom Group have yet to comment on this new development.
