Putin’s spox: Russia analyzes Hague Court’s ruling in Yukos case

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (PRIME) -- Russia is analyzing how to appeal and defend Tuesday’s decision of the Hague Court of Appeal that ordered the country to pay a whopping U.S.$50 billion to the former majority shareholders of defunct oil company Yukos President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

“So far we and our relevant ministries, I mean the Justice Ministry in the first place, are analyzing the circumstances of the case, studying the tactics of defense and appeals against the decision, we are at the analysis stage now,” he said.

Andrei Klishas, chairman of the constitutional legislation committee of the Federation Council, said that Russia may not fulfill the order because it contradicts Russian legislation, while the Justice Ministry said that it would turn to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

In 2003, the Russian government accused the management of the then top oil company Yukos of economic crimes. Several company managers were sentenced to prison for fraud and tax evasion. Its core owner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was charged with several sequential sentences and spent 10 years in prison before he was pardoned by Putin. The company later declared bankruptcy, and its assets were sold to state-owned oil major Rosneft.

In July 2014, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that the Russian government must pay a $50 billion compensation to GML, which unites former Yukos owners. Russia refused to fulfill the court order, and the shareholders sent claims to several countries, asking to help with the fulfillment of the court order. Russian asset seizures began in France and Belgium, and the Russian government contested them.

The District Court of The Hague cancelled the lower court decision on compensation in April 2016 on the ground that the case is beyond the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague.

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