Kazakh govt, Moldovan businessmen sign an agreement for amicable resolution of the oil and gas dispute
ASTANA. July 16 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's government and National Bank and the Moldovan businessmen Anatolie and Gabriel Stati have concluded a framework agreement for amicable resolution of the dispute over oil and gas assets in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Justice Ministry said in a Tuesday press release.
"The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Stati parties, with the support and approval of leading Tristan Oil creditors, have entered into a legally binding framework agreement for amicable and mutually agreeable resolution to the long running dispute over oil and gas assets in Kazakhstan," the press release says.
The agreement was reached on favorable terms, which will bring an end to all legal proceedings and the suspension of any ongoing claims across all jurisdictions, according to the press release.
The specific terms of the agreement are confidential.
"With the settlement of this dispute, Kazakhstan is honouring international treaty obligations and thereby opening its doors for increased investment and heightening its economic growth potential," CEO of Argentem Creek Partners Daniel Chapman is quoted as saying.
Kazakh Minister of Justice Azamat Yeskarayev said that "the agreement was made in view of the public interest and does not involve spending of budgetary funds".
Argentem Creek Partners is an investment manager to certain funds which are creditors of Tristan Oil Limited, the investment vehicle of the Stati parties.
In 2010 the Moldovan businessmen Anatolie and Gabriel Stati filed a claim against Kazakhstan with the arbitration court of Sweden seeking $4 billion from Kazakhstan but were awarded $500 million, $199 million of which related to the alleged costs associated with the construction of the Borankol gas processing plant.
In June 2018 the English High Court considered the evidence and arrived at a conclusion that there was sufficient initial evidence that the award had been procured by fraud.
The Statis then began a campaign of enforcement in seven countries resulting in a freeze of over $22 billion worth of assets owned by Kazakhstan's National Bank and National Fund.
In May 2019 a court of first instance in Brussels ordered to lift the attachment of $21.5 worth of assets owned by the National Fund of Kazakhstan. The court said that the attachment of the other $530 million should be sought through English courts.
In August 2019, the English Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Statis' case against Kazakhstan and brought enforcement proceedings to a conclusive end.
On November 16, 2021, the Brussels Court of Appeal concluded that the Statis committed fraudulent actions before, during and after the arbitration. Particularly, the Belgian court decided that the Statis' investment in Kazakhstan was made in bad faith. The Court also concluded that the award relating to such bad faith investment was obtained by way of fraud.
The construction of the Borankol gas processing plant began in 2005, the project cost was estimated at $176.5 million. The investor of the project was Tristan Oil, owned by Anatolie Stati. A few years later the construction was suspended.