A New York court imposed restrictions on Samaraneftegaz, the Lukoil’s daughter company, as it refused to pay Yukos Capital, an ex-subsidiary of Yukos Oil Company, $186 million, The Financial Times says. The Luxembourg-based company is now owned by Rosneft.
The news agency RIA Novosti proved that citing the copy of the federal district court’s order. The court restrained Samaraneftegaz from transferring assets to either shareholders or affiliates.
In early October, a New York court already ordered Samneftegaz to pay damages of $185.9 million. The argument over the credit agreements broke out between the giants in 2004, when the current Rosneft’s daughter company was part of Yukos. Then, Yukos granted Samaraneftegaz a loan of $2.4 billion.
The Luxembourg-based company secured the payment at the International Chamber of Commerce, however, the defendant refused to obey the ICC’s decision. Yukos started seeking for recourse in judicial organizations of the countries all over the world, including the United States. And, a New York court finally settled the giant’s claim. Bearing in mind the interests and the legal costs, that sum was equivalent to about $186 million.
In total the former Yukos stockholders want to collect $2.5 billion. In their opinion, the organizations that seized the assets from the oil giant must discharge the liabilities. According to Bruse Misamore, the former Yukos chief financial officer, $485 million has been recovered so far. Previously, foundations of the former shareholders received $1.2 billion from the sale of the Yukos overseas assets. In the end, all these funds including the claimed ones are going to be distributed among the one-time Yukos stockholders totaling 55,000.
Yukos was declared bankrupt in 2006. The key oil asset went to Rosneft. The largest Yukos shareholder Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were charged with economic crimes and put in prison. In December 2013, Khodorkovsky was granted a pardon and set free.
