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Yukos Capital v. Russia, Petition to Enforce Arbitral Award, March 23, 2022

23 Mar 2022
Yukos Capital Limited (formerly Yukos Capital SARL) v. Russian Federation, UNCITRAL (Geneva Tribunal), PCA Case No. 2013-31
View case details
Petition to Enforce Arbitral Award
Document Details:
LISTED PARTICIPANTS
Petition to Enforce Arbitral Award
Participants listed are for this document only and may not include all participants involved in the entire case. Always consult the original documents.
Claimant appointee
J. William Rowley
Respondent appointee
Brigitte Stern
Tribunal/Panel chair
Campbell A. McLachlan
Arbitrator(s)
Sole Arbitrator
ICSID Annulment Committee president
ICSID Annulment Committee members
WTO Appellate Body members
WTO Appellate Body chair
Judges
Claimant's counsel
Robert L. Weigel, Jason W. Myatt, Andrei Malikov, Matthew S. Rozen
Claimant's law firm
Respondent's counsel
Respondent's law firm
Other counsel
Claimant's expert
Claimant's expert firm
Respondent's expert
Respondent's expert firm
Claimant's witness
Respondent's witness
Other witnesses
Tribunal secretary
Tribunal assistant
Third-party funder
Entities
Yukos Capital Limited, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Russia
Country
United States
Print reporter
Document Summary
Petition to Enforce Arbitral Award
This summary note is machine-generated. Always consult the original materials.

Procedural Posture

This document is a Petition to Enforce Arbitral Award filed by Yukos Capital Limited against the Russian Federation in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The Petitioner seeks recognition and enforcement of a Final Award issued on July 23, 2021, in Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Case No. 2013-31, pursuant to the 1958 New York Convention and Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

Factual and Legal Background

The underlying arbitration was conducted under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the 1976 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The arbitral tribunal found that the Russian Federation had unlawfully expropriated the Petitioner's multi-billion dollar investments in Yukos Oil Company—specifically, two loans issued in 2003 and 2004—through a coordinated campaign of fabricated tax assessments, sham bankruptcy proceedings, and the subsequent transfer of assets to state-owned entities. The tribunal awarded the Petitioner approximately $5 billion in compensation, comprising the principal loan amounts, contractual and pre-award interest, and the reimbursement of legal costs and arbitral expenses.

Issues and Relief Sought

In the present enforcement proceedings, the Petitioner asserts that the United States District Court possesses subject-matter jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), arguing that the Russian Federation implicitly waived its sovereign immunity by becoming a signatory to the New York Convention. The Petitioner further contends that the arbitral award satisfies all requirements for confirmation under the FAA, as it arises from a commercial relationship and falls squarely within the scope of the Convention.

The Petitioner requests that the Court enter an order confirming the Final Award and issue a judgment against the Russian Federation in the amount of $5,033,254,794.28, plus pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.