France seizes $700m of disputed satellite fees
April 13, 2016
By Chris Forrester
France has reportedly “seized” $700 million in disputed payments alleged to be owed to former shareholders of the now bankrupt Yukos oil company.
Russia has been ordered by the International Tribunal in The Hague to pay $50 billion to Yukos shareholders in a ruling made in July 2014.
The American Lawyer journal is reporting that the seized assets include some $400 million owed by Paris-based Eutelsat to Russian Satellite Communications and another $300 million said to be owed by French satellite launch company Arianespace to Russia’s Roscosmos Space Agency.
Yukos, represented in the arbitration by lawyers from Shearman & Sterling, is reported to have confirmed the amounts achieved.
However, an appeal against the core decision and this current seizure are being mounted. A ruling is expected later in April reported Moscow Times.