British Court Opens The Way To Recover $65 Bln In Lawsuit Filed By Former Yukos Shareholders
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Former Yukos investors can enforce an arbitration award against Russia, now worth more than $65 billion, over the takeover of the bankrupt oil group.
The decision was made on March 2, 2026, by the High Court in London, according to Reuters.
In 2014, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague awarded three former Yukos shareholders - Hulley Enterprises, Yukos Universal and Veteran Petroleum - compensation of just over $50 billion. The tribunal found that Russia expropriated Yukos after the imprisonment of its former owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
They have since been litigating over the amount awarded - which has grown to more than $65 billion when interest is included - in Britain, the United States and the Netherlands, where the Dutch Supreme Court last year rejected Russia's appeal to overturn the award.
In London, Russia argued that it had not agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the arbitration - an argument that was rejected in November 2023 and then again on appeal last February.
After a hearing in January, the High Court ruled to recognize the award and allow investors to seek enforcement in England.
Russia had argued that the awards should not be recognized or enforced.
Justice Robert Bright, however, said in his ruling, "The moral misconduct alleged by the Russian Federation ... is simply no excuse."
The shareholder group, which previously owned a controlling stake in Yukos through its subsidiaries, had previously said that since Russia would not be willing to pay voluntarily, it would have to recover the amount of compensation from Russian commercial state assets.
This process is likely to take several years, however, and Russia is initially expected to appeal the court's decision.
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