Court in The Hague ordered russia to pay Naftogaz $5bn in compensation for lost property in Crimea

The Hague’s Arbitration Tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration ordered russia to pay Ukrainian Naftogaz Group $5 billion. This was announced on April 13 by Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov on Facebook.

"This is compensation for losses and lost property of Naftogaz in Crimea, starting from 2014", - he wrote.

According to him, we are talking about the reimbursement of assets aimed at the development of gas fields and the development of other strategically important infrastructure, "which became one of the main targets of the aggressor during the occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula nine years ago".

Arbitration awards can be executed through an enforcement mechanism, Naftogaz Group’s press service noted.

"Therefore, if russia refuses to voluntarily execute the decision, pursuant to the 1958 New York Convention, Naftogaz has the right to initiate the process of recognition and admission to enforce the award in the territory of those states where assets of the russian federation are located", - the message states.

The court found that compensation should be equal to the fair market value of Naftogaz assets before expropriation.

In addition, the court ruled that russia must reimburse Naftogaz for costs associated with the arbitration proceedings.

In February 2019, The Hague’s Arbitration Tribunal recognized its jurisdiction to consider the case and recognized that the russian federation illegally expropriated the assets of Naftogaz in Crimea.

As reported, in February 2022, the Arbitration Tribunal began hearings to determine the amount of compensation to Naftogaz for the missed opportunity to use assets in Crimea. Naftogaz demanded $10 billion.