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An archive of the key court rulings in the Tristangate dispute.
SVEA COURT OF APPEAL RULES THAT CLAIMANTS OF TRISTAN AWARD CAN COLLECT $75 MILLION HELD BY KAZAKHSTAN IN SWEDEN
The Svea Court of Appeal in Sweden ruled that approximately $75m of cash held in a Swedish bank on behalf of the National Bank of Kazakhstan belongs to the Republic of Kazakhstan and may be collected by the owners of Tristan Oil.
Kazakhstan and the National Bank had asked the Svea Court of Appeal to set aside the attachments, arguing that the attached assets did not belong to the Republic of Kazakhstan and were located in England not Sweden.
After evidence was presented to the court contradicting Kazakhstan’s claims, the Swedish court concluded that the properties belong to Kazakhstan, are located in Sweden, and fall under Swedish law relating to the enforcement of arbitration awards.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit confirms the previous court ruling from March 23, 2018 that the award is valid and enforceable as a binding U.S. judgment. The ruling states that: “We find that it was not an abuse of discretion for the District Court to deny Kazakhstan’s motion because the District Court based its ruling on multiple valid grounds. We further agree with the District Court that Kazakhstan improperly presented new facts in its motion for reconsideration that it had not introduced in its original motion to supplement.”
As a result of this ruling, any non-state immune Kazakh state assets on U.S. soil become amenable to attachment and foreclosure by the Stati Parties.
The federal district court in Washington, D.C. dismisses Kazakhstan’s complaint against the Stati Parties filed pursuant to the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by describing this lawsuit as “ill-advised” and “an improper use of the auspices of this Court to revive and prolong a dispute that is over”.
The Rome Court of Appeal recognizes the award in Italy, dismissing all of Kazakhstan’s challenges to the award (including based on the fraud allegations).
The Court of Appeal in England allows the Stati Parties’ to discontinue all English court proceedings, after the High Court had initially granted Kazakhstan’s application for a trial based on the original fraud allegations made by Kazakhstan.
The Brussels Court of First Instance rejects Kazakhstan’s and NBK’s appeals against the original attachment order with respect to the National Fund assets held by BNY Mellon granted on October 11, 2017. With the Stati Parties’ consent, the Court reduces the attachment value from US$ 22.6 billion to US$ 530 million given the then size of the award.