THE SWEDISH SUPREME COURT REINFORCES THE DECISION FOR CLAIMANTS OF THE TRISTAN AWARD TO COLLECT $75 MILLION HELD BY KAZAKHSTAN IN SWEDEN

On Wednesday, 14 June 2023, the Swedish Supreme Court (Högsta Domstolen) dismissed Kazakhstan’s claim to appeal the January 2023 decision of the Svea Court of Appeal that confirmed that claimants of the Tristan Award can collect $75 million held by Kazakhstan in Sweden.

In January 2023, the Svea Court ruled that approximately $75 million of cash held at the Swedish Enforcement Authority on behalf of the National Bank of Kazakhstan belongs to Kazakhstan and may be collected by the owners of Tristan Oil.

Kazakhstan had sought to appeal the decision, arguing that the attached assets did not belong to the Republic of Kazakhstan and were located in England not Sweden. The Supreme Court examined the material and found no reason to grant leave to appeal to Kazakhstan. The Court of Appeal’s decision therefore stands: the claimants of the Tristan Award can collect $75 million held by Kazakhstan in Sweden as part of the enforcement of the 2013 arbitral award.

In December 2013, a Swedish arbitral tribunal awarded the owners of Tristan Oil approximately $500m in compensation for a harassment campaign and illegal expropriation of assets by Kazakhstan’s authorities in 2010. The Award has since been recognized in multiple jurisdictions, including the U.S., Sweden, Luxembourg, Italy, and France. Since December 2013, Kazakhstan has refused to pay and instead adopted a multijurisdictional legal strategy designed to frustrate the Award.

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