The Yukos case is a litmus test for the international rule of law to prevail
Time for justice to be done
The Yukos case is a litmus test for the rule of law. Yukos Oil was intentionally bankrupted by the Kremlin in 2003 for political reasons. In 2014, an independent Arbitration Tribunal in The Netherlands ruled unanimously that the expropriation was illegal and awarded the former majority shareholders in excess of $50 billion in compensation. After a long appeal battle in the Dutch courts, the Dutch Supreme Court ultimately affirmed the ruling in 2021 on all major grounds. But since the Kremlin refuses to pay the more than $50 billion in damages or even negotiate in good faith, the former shareholders must enforce the Awards against Russian State assets abroad to get their rightful compensation.
Despite an ironclad verdict by the highly respected Dutch Supreme Court, the Kremlin continues to use every trick in the book, including fabricating evidence, to keep the former shareholders tied up in court in the hope they will ultimately give up the fight. But we won’t. We will hold the Kremlin accountable for this crime. A victory not only secures justice for the former majority shareholders but proves to the world that kleptocrats cannot escape justice in the West.