Ukraine’s Naftogaz says Russia was ordered to pay $5 bln in arbitration case

Ukraine’s state-owned gas company Naftogaz on Thursday said Russia has been ordered by an arbitration court in The Hague to pay $5 billion in compensation for unlawfully expropriating its assets in annexed Crimea in 2014.

Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov described Wednesday’s ruling by The Hague’s Arbitration Tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration as a “key victory on the energy front” and said he expected more decisions in Ukraine’s favor to come.

“Despite Russia’s attempts to obstruct justice, the Arbitration Tribunal ordered Russia to compensate Naftogaz for losses of $5 billion,” Naftogaz said.

 Russia must now comply with this decision in accordance with its obligations under international law," Chernyshov said.

If Russia refuses to voluntarily abide by the court's decision, Naftogaz has the right to begin the process of recognizing the arbitration decision and allowing it to be enforced on the territory of those states where Russia's assets are located, the CEO added.

The court found that the amount of compensation should be equal to the fair market value of Naftogaz assets prior to their loss. Naftogaz demanded about twice as much  $10 billion