Hague Court Expected to Rule for Yukos Shareholders

The Hague's arbitration court has ruled in favor of a group of shareholders in defunct oil giant Yukos against Russia, awarding compensation of about $50 billion, a source close to the ruling said on Monday. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague is expected to announce later Monday that Russia must pay the compensation - half of the original $100 billion claim - to former shareholders in the company, once Russia's largest oil producer. The claim in the Hague was made by subsidiaries of Gibraltar-based Group Menatep, a company through which Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, controlled Yukos. Group Menatep now exists as holding company GML and Khodorkovsky is no longer a shareholder in GML or Yukos Human rights court Also Monday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg said it expected on Thursday to announce a decision on Yukos' multibillion-dollar claim against Russia, ruling on 'just satisfaction' or compensation, a Yukos spokeswoman said. Yukos' application in the ECHR, which is on behalf of all Yukos shareholders, is separate from the claim made by the GML group of shareholders in the Hague. The case in the ECHR argued that Yukos was unlawfully deprived of its possessions by the imposition of bogus taxes and a sham auction of its main asset. An interim ruling by the ECHR in 2011 found partly in favor of the Russian Federation but invited a claim for 'just satisfaction' from Yukos. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday Moscow could launch an appeal if the Hague's arbitration court rules in favor of a group of shareholders in defunct oil giant Yukos against Russia. “I heard this morning reports that such a verdict is expected,” he told a news conference, saying he would wait for the ruling to be made before commenting. He said legal formalities in the case had not been completed, including the right of appeal. “The Russian side, those agencies which represent Russia in this process, will no doubt use all available legal possibilities to defend its position," Lavrov said.



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