Businessman Akhmetov initiates further legal action against Russia
Rinat Akhmetov initiates arbitration against the Russian Federation for seized assets in Donbas (Photo:FC Shakhtar)
Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov is demanding compensation from Russia for all losses incurred as a result of interference with his business or the expropriation of assets by the sham republics set up by Russia in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in 2014.
“These assets, as part of the SCM Group, were involved in such diverse range of industries and activities as metals and mining, football, energy, and real estate,” the SCM Group investment company owned by Akhmetov said in a press release on April 11.
“Assets include, among many others, Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, the site of the final heroic defense of the Ukrainian forces against the Russian aggressor in May 2022; and Donbas Arena, which opened in 2009, with cost to build of around $400 million.”
The funds that will be reimbursed by the aggressor will in the future be directed towards the restoration of Ukraine, the company said.
“On Feb. 24, 2022, the Russian army began a large-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Akhmetov said.
“Yet, for me, as for many other Ukrainians, the war began in 2014. It was then that Russia invaded our country, started seizing our vital factories and plants, and destroying our infrastructure. My position has not changed: we will seek justice using all available legal means with every possible agency and court, because Russia’s crimes against Ukraine and Ukrainians that have been committed since 2014 must be punished.”
“Therefore, I’m filing a claim for full compensation from the aggressor country for all the losses we have suffered since 2014 in the illegally occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Justice must be restored, and the aggressor must be held accountable both financially and in the criminal proceedings. I’m going to invest the awarded compensation to rebuild and open new factories and plants, create jobs, and contribute to the growth of the Ukrainian economy. We will definitely rebuild our country, including our Ukrainian Donbas. And the Donbas Arena will once again be a place for happy meetings and excitement.”
In 2018, the SCM Group filed a lawsuit with the international court in The Hague in the Netherlands regarding Ukrainian power company DTEK’s energy assets in the temporarily annexed Crimea.
The SCM Group also filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights listing the assets destroyed or seized after Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
“SCM Group’s lawyers, and all Akhmetov’s businesses, are making every effort to fully and exhaustively hold Russia liable, using all options available under international law and practice,” the company said.
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