The Hague has ordered Russia to pay PrivatBank $327 million for assets in Crimea

PrivatBank has definitively defeated Russia in the case concerning the illegal expropriation of assets in Crimea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ordered Russia to pay the bank more than $327 million in compensation, interest, and costs.

This was reported by the bank’s press service.

The final arbitration award was issued in Case No. 2015-21, which PrivatBank initiated in 2015 pursuant to the 1998 bilateral agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the promotion and mutual protection of investments.

The amount of compensation exceeds $327 million. It includes interest accrued since April 18, 2014, which will continue to accrue until full payment is made, as well as the bank’s related costs and expenses.

The arbitral tribunal affirmed its jurisdiction to hear PrivatBank’s claims and found that Russia had violated Article 5 of the agreement. The tribunal also rejected the Russian party’s objections regarding the alleged illegality of the bank’s investments, noting that this did not deprive the tribunal of jurisdiction or render the claims inadmissible.

According to the bank, as of April 2014, it had significant operations in Crimea and held assets there, including loans, real estate, and funds. Following the occupation of the peninsula, the Russian side took measures that led to the expropriation of the bank’s assets and the cessation of its operations in Crimea.

The bank called the final ruling a major victory resulting from an 11-year legal battle. PrivatBank stated that it expects full enforcement of the ruling and plans to take the necessary steps to collect the awarded compensation.

Earlier, the Odesa-based LLC“Olvia Wine and Cognac Factory” filed a lawsuit seeking compensation of over 148 million hryvnias for damages caused by Russian shelling. This refers to products destroyed in warehouses in the Mykolaiv region as a result of drone attacks in 2024.

Анна Літман