Kazakhstan Won’t Enforce $1.4B Gazprom Asset Seizure
Kazakhstan Won’t Enforce $1.4B Gazprom Asset Seizure Physical constraints, including shale field… Alex Kimani is a veteran finance writer, investor, engineer and researcher for Safehaven.com.
Kazakhstan will not enforce a special court's decision allowing Ukraine's Naftogaz to collect a $1.4 billion international arbitration award from Russia's Gazprom, Justice Minister Erlan Sarsembayev has declared just days after Kazakhstan’s AIFC courtupheld the award.
The legal battle stemmed from a 2019 contract for Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine.
Following Russia's 2022 invasion, Naftogaz declaredforce majeureat a major distribution station, prompting Gazprom to stop fully paying for transit services.
In September 2022, Naftogaz initiated proceedings through the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Switzerland.
Last year, arbitrators ordered Gazprom to pay $1.37 billion plus costs.
Last week, a court at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) recognized the Swiss award.
The AIFC Court's decision marked the first time a foreign public court authorized the forced recovery of assets against Gazprom related to this specific $1.4 billion arbitration award within its jurisdiction.
AIFC is a special financial and economic zone in Kazakhstan that operates under a unique legal framework based on the principles of English common law.
AIFC's acting law is based on the Constitution of Kazakhstan, but explicitly incorporates the principles, legislation and precedents of the law of England and Wales.
However, the Kazakh government has intervened, with Justice Minister Sarsembayev saying that the state will not authorize any seizure or forced sale of Gazprom assets.
This swift political block maintains Kazakhstan’s strategic balancing act, protecting its deeply rooted bilateral ties with Russia ahead of an upcoming visit by Vladimir Putin to Astana.
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