The arbitration tribunal at the Permanent Chamber of the Arbitration Court in The Hague ordered Russia to pay 5 billion dollars in favor of Naftogaz.
Oleksiy Chernyshov, the chairman of the board of Naftogaz, wrote about this on Facebook.
He explained that the sum of 5 billion dollars is compensation for losses and lost property of "Naftogaz" in the occupied Crimea.
According to Chernyshov, it is about the compensation of assets aimed at the development of gas fields and the development of other strategically important infrastructure, which "became one of the main goals of the aggressor during the occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula nine years ago."
"I believe that this is not the last decision that will be made in The Hague in favor of our country," he added.
Naftogaz of Ukraine explained that the arbitration tribunal confirmed that Russia should fully compensate for the losses caused by the illegal seizure of assets in Crimea.
Arbitral awards can be enforced through an enforcement mechanism. Therefore, in the event of Russia's refusal to voluntarily comply with the court decision in accordance with the New York Convention of 1958, "Naftogaz" has the right to start the process of recognition and admission to the enforcement of the decision in the territory of those states where the assets of the Russian Federation are located.
"The court established that the amount of such compensation should be equal to the fair market value of Naftogaz's assets before their expropriation. Despite Russia's insistence that Naftogaz is not entitled to any compensation for the expropriation of its assets, the Arbitration Tribunal disagreed with such a statement," the statement reads.
The amount of compensation established by this decision is the largest amount awarded by an international arbitration tribunal as compensation for Russia's expropriation of assets in Crimea.
In addition, the court ruled that Russia should compensate Naftogaz for the costs associated with this arbitration proceeding.
As a reminder, in October 2016, Naftogaz and six other companies of the Naftogaz group initiated arbitration proceedings against the Russian Federation based on the Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments, also known as the Ukrainian-Russian Investment Protection Agreement.
Oral hearings on jurisdiction and liability took place at the Peace Palace in The Hague in May 2018. In February 2019, the tribunal ruled in favor of Naftogaz. The court confirmed its jurisdiction over the case and recognized that the Russian Federation, violating its obligations under the Investment Protection Agreement, illegally expropriated Naftogaz's investments. Accordingly, the current (second) stage of the arbitration proceedings concerns the determination of the amount of compensation for Naftogaz's losses, the company explained.
