Russian oligarch files US$1 billion claim against Ukraine over nationalisation

ABH Holdings S.A. (ABHH), a company belonging to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman which was the nominal owner of Sense Bank (formerly Alfa Bank Ukraine), has filed a claim against Ukraine seeking US£1 billion in compensation for the forced nationalisation of the financial institution. Source: a statement from the company Details: The company has filed a claim with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the world's leading investor-state dispute settlement body, under the auspices of the World Bank in Washington, DC.

"The amount claimed is more than US£1 billion.

The legal basis for the claim is the Treaty between the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union and the Government of Ukraine on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments," ABHH explained. Fridman's company claims that Ukraine took unlawful and discriminatory steps against the bank's former shareholders and conducted a "black PR campaign", and will consider putting these allegations before the international arbitral tribunal. Background: Ukraine became the owner of 100% of the shares in Sense Bank (formerly Alfa Bank Ukraine) on 21 July 2023.

The government decided to purchase all shares in Sense Bank from the Deposit Guarantee Fund for UAH 1 (approx. US£0.02). The Board of the National Bank of Ukraine had previously decided to take Sense Bank off the market and asked the Cabinet of Ministers to nationalise the financial institution.

ABH Ukraine Limited (Cyprus) and ABH Holdings S.A. (Luxembourg) were the majority owners of the bank, while Mikhail Fridman, a citizen of the Russian Federation and Israel, Petr Aven, a citizen of the Russian Federation and Latvia, and Andrei Kosogov, a citizen of the Russian Federation, all held indirect minority stakes. The Security Service of Ukraine has documented criminal activities aimed at financing the war against Ukraine and served a notice of suspicion on Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman. Earlier, Ukraine's Bureau of Economic Security reported that it had served Fridman with a notice of suspicion over the possible laundering of UAH 100 million (roughly US£2.6 million).

In September 2023, ABH Holdings S.A., which was the nominal owner of shares in Sense Bank before its nationalisation, claimed that the latest criminal charges against Russian oligarch and ABHH minority shareholder Mikhail Fridman were a "mishmash of inappropriate political accusations".

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