Dutch Supreme Court Orders Russia To Pay $50 Bln In Yukos Case
3- 17.10.2025, 20:34
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Photo: Getty Images
Mikhail Khodorkovsky declared "his personal victory".
On October 17, the Dutch Supreme Court rejected Russia's latest appeal in the case of nationalization of Yukos, once Russia's largest oil and gas company. This was reported by Associated Press.
The decision was the final stage of a years-long legal battle in which Russia tried to appeal an arbitration award handed down back in 2014. Back then, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that Russia must pay more than $50 billion to Hulley Enterprises, Veteran Petroleum and Yukos Universal, the companies that owned shares in Yukos. The court found that Russian authorities illegally nationalized the company in the early 2000s following the arrest of its head, Russian businessman and opposition politician Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Russia repeatedly tried to challenge the ruling in various courts, but the Dutch Supreme Court put the final touches on it, the AP noted.
General Director of GML Tim Osborne, which represents former Yukos shareholders, said the Dutch Supreme Court's decision was a "historic victory" for the shareholders and reaffirms the principle of justice that no state, "not even a rogue state like Russia," is above the law.
Khodorkovsky in Telegram also commented on the court's decision. He wrote that the case on compensation for the stolen company is not his battle, because he ceased to be a Yukos shareholder in 2004 and was not involved in the process for the "notorious $50 billion."
"But for me this decision is also important. An independent, respected and recognized Russian court (and the Russian authorities agreed to participate in the process, which means they recognized the court's competence) has recorded: Yukos conducted lawful activities. Yukos management and shareholders are not a criminal group. The company was taken away and destroyed not because of tax claims or violations of the law, but for political reasons and for the sake of reprisals against the main shareholder and head of the company at that time. Therefore, in this part, the decision of the Dutch Supreme Court is my personal victory and the final point of all the claims against me by Putin's 'law-keepers'," Khodorkovsky emphasized.
He thanked everyone "who spent 20 years of their lives on this process," with special mention of his friend Leonid Nevzlin.
"This is the most powerful blow to Putin's regime in the legal field," Khodorkovsky summarized.
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