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Iran’s state oil titan has been dealt another legal blow in the Iran Oil $2.4B Arbitration suit, as a London appeals court upheld a ruling that blocks the company from shielding one of its prized London offices from seizure. The court’s decision, handed down Tuesday, confirmed that the transfer of the property into a trust for oil industry workers was nothing more than a smokescreen to keep creditors at bay.

Appeals Court Slams Trust Transfer

The three-judge panel unanimously found that the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) had not legally shifted ownership of its London office to the Retirement, Savings and Welfare Fund of Oil Industry Workers. The trust documents, the court said, were signed only by an agent—an act insufficient under Section 53(1)(b) of the Law of Property Act 1925, which requires the property owner itself to ink such a declaration.

Justice Antony Zacaroli, delivering the ruling, made it clear: “The signature of an agent does not suffice for the purposes of s.53(1)(b).” In other words, the oil giant’s attempt to shuffle assets on paper collapsed under legal scrutiny.

A Decade-Long $2.4B Gas Dispute

At the heart of the storm is a $2.43 billion arbitration award granted to Crescent Gas Corporation of the United Arab Emirates in 2021. Arbitrators found that NIOC failed to honor a 2001 deal to supply gas to the UAE. Iran’s arguments that international sanctions hampered its obligations were brushed aside by the tribunal, a ruling later affirmed by the High Court in 2022. NIOC lost an appeal in 2023, only deepening its legal quagmire.

Property Transfer Under Fire

Crescent won court approval in 2022 to enforce a charging order over NIOC House, the London office the company bought in 1975. But within a week, NIOC claimed the building belonged to the oil workers’ fund all along, citing a trust declaration. Judge Robin Knowles later ruled the maneuver invalid, concluding that the move was designed to place the property beyond Crescent’s reach.

The Court of Appeal has now affirmed that conclusion, marking yet another failed gambit by Iran’s oil behemoth.

Legal Teams in High-Stakes Clash

Iranian Oil is represented by a formidable team from Fountain Court Chambers, Maitland Chambers, Brick Court, Serle Court, and Eversheds Sutherland. Crescent, meanwhile, fields heavyweights from 3 Verulam Buildings, Essex Court, South Square, Blackstone Chambers, and Reed Smith LLP.

The Retirement, Savings and Welfare Fund is also lawyered up, represented by counsel from Outer Temple Chambers and Blackstone Solicitors. But despite the battalion of attorneys, Tuesday’s ruling underscores one thing: Crescent’s grip on the $2.4 billion judgment is tightening.