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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

TO THE CLERK OF THE COURT:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Defendant, the Russian Federation, by and through its undersigned counsel, hereby removes the above-captioned action from the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, Index No. 154401/2026, (“NY State Action”) to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and states as follows:

1. The Russian Federation (“Russia”) is a foreign state as defined in the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (“FSIA”), 28 U.S.C. §1603(a). Russia files this notice of removal without prejudice to any objections to service which it may have under the FSIA, §1608(a).

2. Russia seeks removal of the NY State Action to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1441(a) on the ground that this is an action over which this Court would have original federal question jurisdiction under FSIA, which is the sole means of obtaining subject matter and personal jurisdiction over foreign states in U.S. courts. See Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp., 488 U.S. 428, 443 (1989) (“FSIA provides the sole basis for obtaining jurisdiction over a foreign state in the courts of this country”).

3. On April 1, 2026, Joint Stock Company State Savings Bank of Ukraine, also known

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as JSC Oschadbank (“Oschadbank”), initiated the NY State Action. The documents of record in the NY State Action are attached hereto:

Doc. 1. Summons, filed April 6, 2026 (corrected);

Doc. 2. Notice of Motion for Summary Judgment in Lieu of Complaint;

Doc. 3. Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment;

Doc. 4. Affirmation of Attorney O’Gorman;

Doc. 5. Exhibit A, November 26, 2018 Arbitral Award;

Doc. 6. Exhibit B, November 27, 1998 BIT;

Doc. 7. Exhibit C, March 30, 2021 Decision of Paris Court of Appeal, Case No. 23-2021;

Doc. 8. Exhibit D, December 7, 2022 Court of Cassation Decision, Case No. 21-15.390;

Doc. 9. Exhibit E, July 1, 2025 Judgment of Paris Court of Appeal, Case No. 47-2025;

Doc. 10. Exhibit F, October 27, 2025 Note Verbale;

Doc. 11. Exhibit G, March 18, 2026 news article;

Doc. 12. Exhibit H, January 13, 2011 Decree of French Ministry of Justice;

Doc. 13. Affirmation of Attorney Michou;

Doc. 14. April 6, 2026 Request for Judicial Intervention;

Doc. 15. Notice of Appearance of Attorney Zhang;

Doc. 16. Notice of Appearance by Attorney O’Gorman; and

Doc. 17. April 29, 2026 Docket, NY State Action.

4. Russia has not been served under 28 U.S.C. §1608(a) with any of the above listed documents filed in the NY State Action.

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5. “Removal of a case does not waive or obviate the need for service[.]” Silverstein v. Spark Therapeutics, Inc., No. 24-CV-8517 (LAP), 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175203, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 9, 2025) (granting motion to dismiss for insufficient service of process in action removed from state court). Russia does not waive of service of process under 28 U.S.C. §1608(a), and none should be implied.

6. Russia does not waive sovereign immunity under FSIA, and none should be implied.

7. In the event Russia is properly served under 28 U.S.C. §1608(a), it intends to move for an order transferring this action to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or in the alternative dismissing it, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(f)(4) (FSIA’s exclusive venue provision), 1404(a) and 1406(a). Russia reserves the right to move to transfer this action prior to service.

8. This action is a transparent attempt to avoid the jurisdiction of the District Court for the District of Columbia where a proceeding arising from the same nucleus of facts, and raising the same allegations that Russia purportedly waived sovereign immunity under 28 U.S.C. §1605(a)(1), has been pending since March 2023. See Joint Stock Company State Savings Bank of Ukraine, also known as JSC Oschadbank v. The Russian Federation, Case #1:23-cv-00764-ACR (D.D.C.) (Reyes, J.) (“D.C. Action”).

9. Oschadbank’s Motion for Summary Judgment in Lieu of Complaint, seeks relief in the form of: “(1) damages of $1,111,300,729.00; (2) costs of arbitration proceedings of $731,400.00; (3) legal fees, fees of expert witnesses, and related expenses of $3,134,907.34; and (4) any accrued and unpaid interest on that amount against Defendant the Russia Federation[.]”

10. This is identical to the relief currently sought by Oschadbank in the D.C. Action. See Oschadbank Petition to Confirm Foreign Arbitration Award, 23-cv-00764, (D.D.C.), Doc. 1,

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p. 21.

11. This Notice of Removal is timely pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1441(b)(1). It has been filed prior to 30 days after service of the summons and motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint. To wit, Russia has not yet been served in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §1608(a). See Murphy Bros. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, 526 U.S. 344, 355, n. 6 (1999) (acknowledging possibility of removal before service is completed).

12. No prior application for this relief has been made.

13. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446(d), Defendants will promptly give written notice of this Notice of Removal to Plaintiff's counsel of record and will file a copy of this Notice of Removal with the clerk of the state court in which the NY State Action is pending.

WHEREFORE, Defendant Russia requests that this civil action be removed from the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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To: Dennis H. Hranitzky
Alex H. Loomis
Debra D. O’Gorman
Yvonne Y. Zhang
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

2755 E. Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 520
Salt Lake City, Utah 84121
(801) 515-7300 Main Office Number

295 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(212) 849-7000 Main Office Number

111 Huntington Avenue, Suite 520
Boston, MA 02199
(617) 712-7100 Main Office Number

Counsel for Plaintiff