NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eight years ago, on
19 December 2013, a Swedish
arbitration tribunal found that the Republic of Kazakhstan had violated its obligations under
the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and awarded Tristan Oil's owners
damages of approximately US$ 500
million.
The Swedish arbitration tribunal ruled that "it is indisputable
that Kazakhstan directly
expropriated investments" and that the authorities had conducted "a
string of measures of coordinated harassment". The tribunal noted
that these measures included false accusations of illegal conduct,
fabricated criminal prosecutions, unwarranted tax assessments, and
criminal penalties.
Eight years later, Kazakhstan's
Ministry of Justice is still obstructing payment of this final,
binding and non-appealable Award. In June
2020, the Ministry took its campaign of resistance to the US
courts. It filed a civil complaint in New
York against a significant bondholder in Tristan Oil,
Argentem Creek, and its CEO, alleging that they were part of a
conspiracy to defraud Kazakhstan.
The Tristangate Award has been recognized in multiple
jurisdictions, including the US, Sweden, Luxembourg, Italy, France, and the
Netherlands. Kazakhstan's
refusal to honor the Award has led to the freezing of Kazakhstani
assets worth a total of US$5.8
billion worldwide.
The bondholder group, including Argentem Creek, is due to
receive 70% of the award proceeds under a sharing agreement with
the claimants. The total value of the award, including all accrued
interest and costs, stands at approximately US$ 544 million as of December 2021.
For a history of the Tristangate dispute and an archive of all
related court documents and news articles, please visit
www.tristangate.com.
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SOURCE Argentem Creek Partners