22.10.2013
BVI court enters judgment on UC RUSAL’s USD70 million award
The arbitration award was issued in Albaco’s favour by a three-member tribunal sitting in Switzerland in accordance with the Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce. The tribunal held that CDH had breached a supply contract with Albaco for the sale-purchase of alumina.
CDH’s appeal of the award in Switzerland was rejected by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court by judgment dated 17 September 2013, without requiring any reply from Albaco, which is done in rare cases where the application in question is clearly inadmissible or unfounded. On 16 October 2013, the High Court of Justice of the British Virgin Islands, where CDH is registered, issued an order entering judgment on the award in the amount US$71,962,422.01, including interest and costs up to the date of the order.
CDH has refused to comply with the award voluntarily and has essentially repudiated its debt. Albaco will now undertake to enforce the BVI judgment against CDH in the British Virgin Islands.
CDH’s continued refusal to comply with the award and BVI court order will also likely compel Albaco to take other legal actions in support of its enforcement action. This will include an application to liquidate CDH, whereupon a court-appointed liquidator will open up CDH’s books and records. Furthermore, there will be an application for discovery of bank records of CDH’s dollar-denominated transfers in the United States and elsewhere, and other similar measures.
We expect these discovery actions to lead to a network of offshore entities and accounts connected with Talco. As noted recently in The Economist (27 July 2013), “Each year, TALCO produces hundreds of millions of dollars in profits that are routed to a shell company in the British Virgin Islands.”
Albaco is determined to be paid on the award, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, from what appear to be significant resources behind CDH and its affiliates.
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