Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

English Commercial Court backs enforcement of £66bn Yukos ECT awards, rejecting Russia’s fraud and public policy defences; permission to appeal granted

Published on: 06 March 2026

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

In a preliminary judgment, Judge Robert Bright concluded that the Russian Federation’s challenges offered no realistic prospect of toppling a £50bn award secured by the investors in 2014. The investors comprised three oil companies: Hulley Enterprises Ltd, Veteran Petroleum Ltd and Yukos Universal Ltd. The High Court ratified the largest sum ever awarded by the English courts, firmly throwing out Russia’s appeals. Once interest was applied, the original £50bn rose to £66bn, a figure the court left intact. Bright J determined that numerous Russian points had already been rejected by lower tribunals and could not be recycled on appeal, as they had been fully ventilated before. Russia had maintained that the investors procured the award through bribery and fraud. Bright J further dismissed Russia’s contention that the £66bn should be deemed unenforceable on public policy grounds. Russia contended that the award arose in part from acts of bribery by the investors, asserting they had bribed an expert witness and that, as a result, public policy required that the award should not be enforced...

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