"It is impossible to fulfill it"

Dmitry Gololobov - that Russia will not pay compensation to the shareholders of the Yukos

On June 15, the term expires that the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe has provided Russia to agree on a plan for the payment of 1.9 billion euros to the shareholders of the Yukos, which the Russian Federation ordered the European Court of Human Rights. The court decision states that Russia should decide on the method of payments of this amount until June 15, 2015.

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights on the payment of UKOS shareholders of 1.9 billion euros in their lawsuit was issued on July 1, 2014. Russia appealed this decision in October of the same year, but the Strasbourg court rejected its complaint. After that, on December 16 last year, the decision of the ECHR entered into force. In mid -March of this year, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe sent a register to the Russian government, in which he ordered Russia to submit a clear plan for the payment of 1.9 billion euros by June 15 to the shareholders of the Yukos and agree with the Committee the terms of distribution of this amount between shareholders. Yukos’s claims to Russia are not limited to this: in July last year, the arbitration court in the Hague ordered it to pay 50 billion dollars to former shareholders of the Yukos. This court decision was also appealed by Russia in February this year. After that, daily interest in the amount of $ 2.6 million began to run for this amount. The Minister of Justice of Russia, Alexander Konovalov, said that Russia does not intend to execute the decision of the Hague court and is going to continue to sue with the shareholders of the Yukos. It became known that the shareholders filed claims for the recovery of Russian property abroad in the courts of the USA, France and Great Britain and prepare similar lawsuits in the courts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Dmitry Gololobov

The former head of the legal department of the NK Yukos, Dmitry Gololobov, who is living in the UK, is sure that Russia will not only provide a schedule for the payment of compensation to the shareholders of the Yukos by June 15, but that the refusal of payments does not threaten it:

- The European court made a decision almost completely in favor of Russia, satisfying all the arguments of Russia. He stated that taxes from Yukos could be collected and that these were fair taxes. In addition, he noted that there was an overpressed taxation and that it was necessary to return the illegally recovered amount to the plaintiff. Another question is that Russia took a purely political position, saying that he did not want to pay to the shareholders of the Yukos. But it must be understood that the court had in mind all the shareholders of the Yukos, and not the main, the main shareholders from the Menatep group, which received a decision of the arbitration court in the Hague to pay $ 50 billion. These are two completely different solutions. 1.9 billion euros should go to all 50 thousand minority shareholders of Yukos. The European Court of Human Rights fell into a very difficult situation with this decision and was forced to create a special procedure, which he had never done before. He decided that it is necessary to find all the shareholders on the registry, make a list (and this is a huge job that will take a lot of time) and pay them money. Russia took a position that is also difficult to criticize, given the jurisdiction of the European Court. The Russian authorities said that the decision was made in relation to several tens of thousands of people who did not require this money, it is possible that they do not even want this money to be recovered. Russia called the decision of the ECHR irrational and stated that it could not and would not fulfill it. At the same time, Russia refused to pay the shareholders of the Yukos, referring, of course, not 50 thousand minority shareholders, each of which will get 10-15 euros-a penny (more to transfer money, to execute a decision), and implying a Menatep group. “We will not give a penny to the Menatep group,” Russia said, “because using this precedent, it will try to recover $ 50 billion from us. You won’t do anything with us, because the maximum that you can do with us is to drive out of the Council of Europe. But you will not be worse, because we will not be controlled at all, we will not be friends with you and at all outside Europe.” Everyone understands that these two billion euros cannot serve as an occasion for the expulsion of Russia from the Council of Europe and that this is a big political issue that can be resolved by the aggregate of some absolutely political circumstances, and not that some billion euros were not paid to the shareholders of Menatep; This is a question of a completely different level. There are disagreements with the European court on a number of issues among several European countries, including Britain. I would say this: Russia does not threaten, if it refuses to pay this money, except for the constant grinding of European organs and threats with a finger that it is not good. But no one will take any measures against Russia, no one will collect any property, because it is impossible to do it, and there is no one to recover - it is not clear who has how much money is, no one has such a right in principle, if we proceed from this decision. The recovery procedure is not spelled out there. And in general, the decision of the European Court does not work out. The state fulfills it voluntarily by transferring to the corresponding accounts. That is, in this case, Russia does not risk absolutely anything, its relations with Europe are already spoiled. Therefore, the situation will be transferred as usual in a “long -playing plate”, which will spin for a year, two, and ten, and most likely our generation will not see the resolution of this issue.

No one has ever recovered this amount

- The Minister of Justice of Russia, Alexander Konovalov, said that Russia would not fulfill the decision of another court - the Hague of the arbitration court, which obliged Russia to pay $ 50 billion to the shareholders of the Yukos. He said that Russia intends to join lawsuits with shareholders. How realistic is such a strategy and whether the shareholders of the Yukos of the arrest of Russian property abroad will not require?

- The implementation of a decision to pay 50 billion is a question not of a year, not two, not three, but a decade, maybe. And, most likely, it will never be fulfilled, and cannot be fulfilled, because Russia does not have property abroad for this amount. Different journalists tried to calculate the amount of Russia's assets abroad, and the maximum amount that I know for all jurisdictions are in the region of three billion. Most of these assets are covered with immunity of the state. There are two precedents when they tried to recover money from Russia in this way: this is one German entrepreneur and the famous company Noga, which failed. The German entrepreneur tried to recover something, but his amount of penalties was only a few million euros-this is a ridiculous amount compared to 50 billion. No one has ever recovered this amount. I must say that Russia does not have that kind of money abroad. The existing practice of English courts to execute decisions on recovery from the assets of states, which are controversial, is not very favorable for the collectors. In principle, this is a very long time, very large legal battles in various jurisdictions. In the meantime, four jurisdictions are indicated, where the lawyers of the Yukos filed for claims: France, Germany, Britain and the USA. In each of them, they will be resolved separately. What position will Russia take? She will not execute the decision of the courts and already voluntarily refused this. At the same time, interest is dripping in the area of a billion dollars a year. The task of Russia to tighten this process into eternity, as in the case of NOGA. It is clear that if, suppose, five years will pass, then during this time 5 billion percent will increase, and the shareholders of the Yukos will recover property at best by $ 10 million. It will be funny. Everyone will say: "Sorry, we understand that there is some decision, but it is impossible to execute it, we must forget about it." The cost of the decision will strive for zero. Then, when Yukos shareholders in five or seven years old get tired of suing, they will simply sell a court decision, give up a billion or two billion dollars to the Western structure that is controlled by Russia or does it on its order, as it happened.

They have already tried to sue Rosneft for 10 years and how did it end?

- The shareholders of the Yukos, apparently knowing about this, nevertheless, file claims for the recovery of Russian property abroad, as you already said, are going to apply to the courts of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands to the courts of the United States, France. That is, we are talking about the recovery of $ 50 billion. Is there any chance of Yukos shareholders to win claims in these ships?

- Two billion cannot be forcibly recovered from Russia in principle. They will never be forcibly collected from Russia until it voluntarily fulfills it. I exclude political pressure, but this is no longer a legal question. Yes, they sue, but, excuse me, they have already tried to sue Rosneft for 10 years and how did it end? Former Yukos management spent more on the courts than he recovered, and was forced to conclude an agreement with Rosneft, which did not pay a penny. This situation is a good precedent. In this case, Russia will behave as "Rosneft": it will dynamite, dynamite and dynamite, until the shareholders end with the money allocated for this goal and patience. The recovery processes are extremely expensive, they will not pay off in any way; Each lost process, if it is lost in the appropriate jurisdiction, will reduce the price of the decision and increase the expenses of shareholders, and their money is not as unlimited as the Russian Federation.

This is not even manilism-this is some kind of fantasy

- Good, but here Ukraine threatens to arrest Russia's property abroad ...

-So far, I am not observing any decision made in favor of Ukraine by any international court. So its performance cannot be discussed. This is not even Manilovism-this is some kind of fantastic. How can you arrest Russia's assets abroad? So far there is no decision, even the courts have not yet begun. And in order to recover something not from the state, but from the company, it should be so closely connected with the state, controlled by it that it is unlikely to suit Gazprom or Rosneft, which have independent management, foreign shareholders, directors and other things. This is not some Katar oil company that is fully controlled by the state, at the head of which stands a member of the royal family. These are joint-stock companies with some state participation, and, as the British court indicated, a certain state participation, even the full institution of the company does not speak about anything and does not allow its assets to pay a penalty for such disputes.

The question of 50 billion is very closely intertwined with the fate of Pichugin

- Is there a chance that the parties can conclude a settlement agreement? Here, for example, what you mentioned, is a settlement agreement of Yukos shareholders with Rosneft, when it was stated that the parties were abandoning mutual claims in connection with the liquidation of Yukos. This option is possible?

- This agreement concerned internal corporate debts, and it was concluded by the former Yukos management, which controlled certain companies that had these debts that tried to recover. This has nothing to do with the claims of the shareholders, it is a completely different matter, this is the third independent layer of claims, which are already resolved with Rosneft. The achievement of the agreement is inevitable, it will be in a year, after three, four, five, six years. It will not be necessary in the form of a written agreement, it will be more likely in the form of redemption of these requirements for Russia with some kind of structure that will be friendly to Russia and will actually do this at its request. It will cost a billion dollars, maybe one and a half, depending on how much the shareholders will like it. But there is one fundamental question: 50 billion are used by the shareholders of the Yukos, which was repeatedly declared for political pressure on Russia, to resolve the issue of the conclusion of Alexei Pichugin, who is sitting for a life -long crime. The issue of the liberation of Alexei Pichugin is the fundamental political issue of this decision. That is, in principle, shareholders cannot take money and conclude an agreement; Technically, this is possible, politically for them it will be deadly, because everyone will say then that they quit Pichugin to die in prison, and this will be absolutely obvious to everyone. Pichugin is the last prisoner in the Yukos case, and serving as a life sentence. And the question of 50 billion, whoever tries to deny it, is very closely intertwined with the fate of Pichugin.

Precedent of global significance

- Do you think there are a chance that Pichugina will simply release and thus resolve this duty?

- In Russia, everything happened and much is possible, but so far it is not difficult to imagine the reaction of Vladimir Putin to this: he has never exchanged people who were sitting in prison for money. I think this is a matter of such a high policy that has such a fundamental political significance that it will hardly be resolved for 50 or 500 billion, because it will create a precedent of global significance - a person can be redeemed for money even from the state. The problem of Pichugin can be resolved with the help of some other political agreements, but purely not monetary, ”said Dmitry Gololobov, former head of the legal department of the NK Yukos.