Russian court prohibits OMV from suing Gazprom Export in Stockholm

MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax) - The Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region upheld an application from Gazprom Export LLC at a hearing on Wednesday to prohibit OMV Gas Marketing and Trading GmbH from continuing arbitration proceedings at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

"[The Court] upholds the application (complaint)," the arbitration file says.

Gazprom Export also asked the court to order the recovery of funds from OMV in case of failure to comply with the judicial act.

Russian courts have already issued several bans on foreign counterparties conducting proceedings in foreign courts and arbitration institutions, companies belonging to Gazprom said.

The sanctions imposed by the European Union include, in part, a ban on the provision of legal services to Russian legal entities. According to the Russian side, this makes fair consideration of disputes in courts in unfriendly jurisdictions impossible.

The Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, after a claim by Gazprom, prohibited OMV Exploration & Production GmbH in April from continuing proceedings in the International Arbitration Court of the International Chamber of Commerce with a monetary sanction awarded in case of failure to comply with the ban. The details of the decision were not published, since the court, at the request of the parties, decided to consider the case behind closed doors.