Translated material
A court in France overturned the decision on compensation of $1.3 billion to the Ukrainian Oschadbank due to the annexation of Crimea to Russia
The Paris Court of Appeal overturned the decision to pay compensation to the Ukrainian Oschadbank for the seizure of its property in Crimea when the peninsula became part of Russia. This is reported by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.
The decision to pay compensation in 2018 was made by international arbitration in Paris. The amount of compensation was 1.3 billion dollars. The arbitration concluded that Russia, by nationalizing the Crimean assets of Oschadbank, violated a bilateral agreement with Ukraine on the mutual protection of investments.
The decision of the Court of Appeal emphasizes that the arbitral tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear the dispute. The Court of Appeal agreed with Russia's arguments that the Crimean branch of Oschadbank was established during Soviet times, so it does not fall under the investment protection agreement.
This decision will have a precedent value in other cases involving the so-called "Ukrainian investors", which are considered by arbitration and state courts in European jurisdictions.
- Oschadbank was founded in 1991 and is owned by the state. In March 2014, when Crimea became part of Russia, Oschadbank had 294 branches on the peninsula.
- The decision of the court in Paris was the first verdict of a foreign national court rendered in favor of Russia in the case of compensation for the former property of Ukrainian companies in Crimea.