For more than nine years, the Republic of Kazakhstan has refused to compensate the owners and international bondholders of Tristan Oil, an international oil and gas company in Kazakhstan, whose assets were illegally nationalized by the Government of Kazakhstan in July 2010 in violation of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Pursuant to a final and binding arbitral award issued in Sweden in December 2013, Kazakhstan was ordered to pay approximately US$ 500 million to the Moldovan investors who had set up Tristan Oil. Subsequently, the courts of five different jurisdictions have fully recognized the Swedish award, which in Sweden has been fully adjudicated and is of final, binding and non-appealable nature. And yet, Kazakhstan continues to refuse to pay the award and is adopting a multijurisdictional legal strategy designed to frustrate the award and avoid compliance with its binding international treaty obligations.
This website brings full transparency to the dispute and provides background on this specific abuse of foreign investors’ rights in Kazakhstan.
Argentem Creek Partners is an independent emerging market credit specialist managing funds for institutional investors. We are headquartered in New York, with offices in Minneapolis, London, and resources in Buenos Aires.
Argentem Creek Partners is a holder of Tristan Oil notes. Approximately 70% of the award is due to the bondholders. Because we owe a duty of care to our own Investors, which include large US pension funds, we are and have been defending our investment and asserting our rights as bondholders. We are determined to see that the fully adjudicated award is paid.
Argentem Creek Partners believes that Kazakhstan offers great investment opportunities, provided that it respects the rule of law. A resolution of the Tristan Oil dispute would send a positive message to all international investors and would create favourable conditions for enhanced economic prosperity for Kazakhstan.