Oschadbank wins appeal in USD 1.3 bln claim against Russia

Ukrainian state bank Oschadbank (OSCHAD) reported on
Oct. 24 the Appellate Court in Paris ruled in its favor against an appeal by
Russia to suspend the enforcement of a November 2018 award by the International
Court of Arbitration in Paris. That court ruled the Russian government should compensate USD 1.3 bln of the bank’s losses
owing to its illegal occupation of Crimea since 2014.

The key argument of the Russian side in its appeal was
that “enforcement of the award in countries that protect their state immunity
to a lesser extent than France” may harm Russians’ rights, Oschadbank said in
its statement. “Referring to abstract and ungrounded arguments, Russia is
struggling to avoid the award’s enforcement,” the bank said. In Oschadbank’s
opinion, this proves that Russia is refusing to fulfill its own international
commitments.

Alexander Paraschiy: This is the latest victory for Oshadbank, which has made the most
progress in its litigation against the Russian occupation of Crimea among all
Ukrainian government and state-controlled entities. We share the bank’s view
that the Russian side has no intention to pay anything on the Paris court’s
award, and that the bank won’t be able to get any compensation soon. Therefore,
the bank’s legal expenses on such litigation are rather investments into
strengthening its image. We remain bullish on OSCHAD Eurobonds which, in our
view, bear the same risk as sovereign bonds.