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Court backs Yukos shareholders against Kremlin in $50 bn case
A Dutch court Tuesday upheld an appeal by shareholders of the dismantled oil giant Yukos in a landmark ruling, boosting their fight in a $50 billion case for compensation.
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The ruling overturns a lower Dutch court’s ruling in favour of Russia, which had contested an original decision by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that awarded shareholders billions of dollars after Yukos was dismantled in the mid-2000s.
“The Appeals Court in The Hague decided today that a previous ruling in favour of the Russian Federation was incorrect,” the court said in a statement, adding an original $50 billion award by the PCA — an international arbitral tribunal — “is in force again”.
Russia swiftly said it would appeal.
The long-awaited ruling comes almost 14 years after the once powerful company filed for bankruptcy and follows a controversial 2014 ruling that ordered Russia to pay out billions of dollars in compensation to its former shareholders.
The PCA that year ruled that Russia had forced Yukos into bankruptcy with excessive tax claims and then sold off its assets to state-owned companies.
It based its ruling on the provisions of a multilateral 1994 accord, the Energy Charter Treaty, which aimed to promote energy security and which says a dispute between a member state and a foreign investor could be solved through arbitration.
It then ordered Moscow to pay more than $50 billion to the former shareholders — a record award for the arbitration tribunal.
– ‘Brutal kleptocracy’ –
In a shock turnaround a local Dutch court in 2016 annulled the PCA’s decision, saying the legal body was “not competent” to rule in the case, based on the treaty.
But appeals judges Tuesday disagreed with the lower court’s findings, saying “Russia was under an obligation to enforce the treaty unless it was in breach of Russia law.”
“This court finds that there was no breach of Russian law.”
Yukos’ main shareholder GML hailed the ruling.
“A brutal kleptocracy has been held to account,” chief executive Tim Osborne said in a statement.
Tuesday’s decision however may not be the end of the saga: the parties may still fight the decision at the Dutch Supreme Court, officials said.
Moscow “will continue to defend its legitimate interests and, in an appeal, contest the verdict”, Russia’s justice ministry said in a statement.
Yukos, once Russia’s biggest post-Soviet oil company, was broken up after its former owner, Kremlin critic and ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was arrested in 2003.
Khodorkovsky says the case against him was always political.
“The expropriation of Yukos was not about taxes, but about the fight against political opponents,” Khodorkovsky, who lives in exile in London, said on Twitter.
His arrest came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the nation’s growing class of oligarchs against meddling in politics.
Yukos was sold off in opaque auctions to state companies led by Rosneft between 2004 and 2006. State-owned Rosneft was then small, but has since grown into one of the world’s biggest listed oil companies by production volume.
The claimants have been seeking compensation for what they say are their losses caused by the break-up of Yukos.
– ‘Expropriation of the century’ –
The question “relates to the circumstances of the Yukos takeover by the Russian oligarchs during its privatisation in 1995 and 1996,” Russian government lawyer Andrea Pinna told AFP ahead of the ruling.
As the Soviet Union crumbled, unscrupulous businessmen amassed immense fortunes and influential empires by scooping up former Soviet assets — particularly in raw materials — at bargain-basement prices.
“Russia considers that the acquisition of Yukos was only possible through corruption and other illegal acts,” Pinna said.
Emmanuel Gaillard, representing former shareholders, told AFP that “Russia is making considerable diplomatic efforts to try and discredit the players in this case” which he called “the greatest expropriation of the 21st century”.
Khodorkovsky, who is no longer a stakeholder, spent a decade in prison on charges of tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement. He was suddenly pardoned by Putin in 2013 and flown out of the country.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain the status quo in a dispute over the party’s candidates emerging from the Benue State APC primaries for the 2027 general election.
The order was made on Thursday by Justice Inyang Ekwo during proceedings in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1429/2026, filed by Engr. Sesugh Akaagba and other aggrieved APC candidates from Benue State against the APC and INEC.
The plaintiffs had, through an ex parte motion filed on July 5, 2026, sought six interim reliefs, including an order restraining the APC from substituting its validly nominated candidates in Benue State through its June 29, 2026 correspondence, or any subsequent communication, to INEC, pending determination of the substantive suit.
They also sought an order compelling the APC to immediately transmit to INEC the names of candidates validly nominated during the primaries monitored by the electoral commission.
When the matter first came up on July 8, 2026, the court declined to grant the interim application immediately, directing both APC and INEC to appear and respond before any decision was taken. The matter was adjourned to July 16.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel representing the APC and INEC were present in court, while the plaintiffs were represented by Mohammed Ndarani, SAN, alongside his legal team.
In his ruling, Justice Ekwo held that since issues had been joined by the parties particularly with INEC now before the court, the defendants were required by law to preserve the subject matter of the litigation pending determination of the substantive suit.
When counsel to the plaintiffs urged the court to caution APC and INEC against taking any further action that could affect the disputed list of candidates, the judge responded that it was “not a matter of advice but of law,” stressing that the defendants were bound to maintain the status quo.
The court consequently restrained APC and INEC from taking any action capable of altering the disputed list of candidates pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The defendants did not object to the restraining order.
At the commencement of proceedings, the court noted that all parties had voluntarily submitted to its jurisdiction by duly filing and exchanging their respective processes.
It held that there was no procedural or jurisdictional impediment to the expeditious determination of the substantive action, and directed that the matter be heard without further delay.
In furtherance of the objective of preserving the res and safeguarding the efficacy of the judicial process, the court ordered all parties to maintain the status quo pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit, restraining any act or omission capable of prejudicing the rights of the parties or rendering the proceedings nugatory.
The court further directed that INEC be served forthwith with the originating and all consequential processes.
The effect of the subsisting order is that INEC is restrained from tampering with the existing list of candidates pending final determination of the suit, and from receiving, recognising, or acting upon any purported substituted list of National Assembly candidates from Benue State submitted by the APC.
The matter was adjourned to July 21, 2026, for hearing of the substantive suit.
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and former First Lady Patience Ibifaka Jonathan recently celebrated a significant family milestone as they attended the graduation ceremony of their son, Ariara Goodluck Jonathan, at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom.
The proud parents joined family members and well-wishers to witness Ariara receive his degree, marking the successful completion of his academic programme. The occasion was filled with joy as the Jonathan family commemorated the achievement, highlighting the importance they place on education and personal development.
The graduation ceremony attracted warm congratulatory messages from friends, associates, and admirers, who wished the graduate continued success in his future endeavours.
The Following names joined the political family of Sen. Dr. George Akume today after leaving the sinking Alia ship .
Under the leadership of Barr. Emmanuel Jime .
The are ;
Chief Nelson Alapa
Douglas pepe SAN senatorial Aspirant zone A,
Engr Peter Ashiekaa
QS Clement Beetseh
Former commissioners
Joy Luga
Ann itodo
Barr martins Shaagee
Miss Dorcas
Prof Usar Joseh
Prof Cephas Tushima
Chief Patrick Idoko
Hon Patience Akor
Hon Fred Idoko
Hon Lawrence Ekpo Onoja Jnr
Hon Andrew Abah
Hon Agbo Innocent Ikwumonu
Hon Simon Omachoko
Hon David Egboja
Dr John Garba
Among together,
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