Yukos Oil Company Secures Largest Ever Award From European Court Of Human Rights

€1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) is the largest award ever made by ECtHR by a factor of twenty-one times.

31 July 2014, London: Today the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg announced its largest ever award of Just Satisfaction. The award of €1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) to YUKOS Oil Company (YUKOS) is 21 times larger than any previous award made by the ECtHR in its history.

Commenting on the announcement, YUKOS’ former Chief Executive Officer, Steven Theede said: “This is by multiples the largest award that the ECtHR has ever made, although the award is substantially less than the claim submitted by YUKOS.  All YUKOS shareholders will benefit from this decision. The pursuit of this case, originally filed in April 2004, was to ensure that YUKOS shareholders obtained recompense for the wrongful acts of the Russian Federation.  It has been worth the effort.  It is important to remember that in 2004, the ECtHR was the only judicial venue available to YUKOS as a legal entity because it could not seek the protection of international commercial tribunals, open only to investors.”

Bruce Misamore, former Chief Financial Officer said of the ruling: “We are very pleased that the ECtHR has awarded substantial damages for the Russian Federation’s illegal, unfair, hasty enforcement measures, including fines and bailiffs charges, which resulted in the destruction of YUKOS.  However, the ECtHR has failed to recognize the true economic losses sustained by YUKOS shareholders.  In particular, the judgment says nothing about compensation for the rigged auction of Yuganskneftegaz (YNG), despite the ECtHR’s 2011 ruling that the decision to auction YNG “was capable of dealing a fatal blow to YUKOS’ ability to survive the tax claims and to continue its existence”.”

He continued: “Inevitably the Just Satisfaction award is based on the ECtHR’s restrictive merits judgment of September 2011, which fails to recognize the illegitimate methods and motives of the Russian Federation in destroying YUKOS.  This goes against all other independent court and arbitral findings, the most prominent of which was just announced on Monday from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.”

Misamore added: “Over 55,000 YUKOS shareholders now stand to receive some compensation directly from the Russian Federation under this judgment.  This is a real step forward but in no way reflects the true damages suffered by the victims of the destruction of YUKOS by the Russian Federation.”

The ECtHR has specified the list of YUKOS shareholders entitled to receive their share of this €1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) award.  The Russian Federation is compelled by the ruling to meet the ECtHR’s order to directly compensate all of these shareholders without delay.