Russia made the case at the Court of Appeal as it takes another shot at arguing that it has state immunity from claims brought on behalf of former investors of Yukos, which was Russia’s largest oil company before it collapsed in 2006.
The award was more than $50 billion when it was awarded by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague under the international Energy Charter Treaty of 1991, but had accumulated around $8 billion in interest by the time the case went before a High Court judge in 2023.
The arbitration tribunal made the award after concluding that Russia had breached the treaty by engaging in an illegal campaign to bankrupt the oil company, according to an earlier High Court ruling.
Three companies, Hulley Enterprises Ltd., Veteran Petroleum Ltd., and Yukos Universal Ltd., are bringing a claim against Russia to enforce the arbitration award on behalf of investors.
Judge Sara Cockerill concluded in that 2023 High Court decision that Russia could not re-run arguments about state immunity that had already been rejected in the Dutch courts.
