The Svea Court of Appeal in Sweden upheld Gazprom’s appeal on June 13, deciding to suspend enforcement of the Stockholm Arbitration dated February 28, 2018, on the dispute between Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz regarding the contract on gas transit via Ukraine, Russia’s gas producer said in a statement on Thursday.
Gazprom filed an appeal on June 7, 2018, against actions of court bailiffs for company’s assets seizure by Naftogaz.
“The Court of Appeal agreed that there are reasonable grounds for suspending enforcement of the Stockholm Arbitration ruling. The judgment particularly deprives Naftogaz of Ukraine of the grounds for attempted arrest of Gazprom overseas assets. Gazprom will use this fact when appealing against the actions of court bailiffs in Switzerland and the Netherlands,” the statement said, according to the Kyiv Post.
On February 28, 2018, the Stockholm Arbitration court handed down a final decision on the dispute between Gazprom and Naftogaz regarding the contract on gas transit via Ukraine.
In March 2018, Gazprom challenged the ruling of the Stockholm Arbitration in the Svea County Court of Appeal and demanded its partial reversal citing serious procedural violations.
Finally, late last month, Naftogaz took action in Switzerland to enforce the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration Court. On June 7, Gazprom filed an appeal to the Swiss court aimed at providing it with full access to case materials and a subsequent appeal against actions of court bailiffs. A similar statement is planned to be sent to the Dutch court.
On June 5, Naftogaz said that the Dutch court had upheld its petition on the seizure of Gazprom shares in its Dutch subsidiaries and the debt of those subsidiaries. According to Naftogaz, the petitions were filed to secure its right to receive from Gazprom $2.6 billion under the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration.
