Russia Loses Appeal On Yukos Ruling

摘要

In a new setback for Russia, Europe’s top human rights court rejected Moscow’s appeal against a July ruling ordering Russia to pay almost ?1.9 billion ($2.8 billion) to shareholders of Yukos, Russia’s former largest crude oil producer. At the end of July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Russia has to pay the former shareholders of Yukos some ?1.87 billion “in respect of pecuniary damage” and another ?300,000 to reimburse legal and arbitration costs. The verdict followed the ECHR’s decision in 2011 that Moscow violated Yukos’ rights when it handled the multibillion-dollar back-tax claims that led to the final destruction of Yukos, headed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The 2011 decision also said the Yukos campaign was not politically motivated, which was seen as a major victory for the Russian side.