Author: Richard Seed

The passing of Alexei Navalny is a tragedy and a very dark day in Russia’s modern history, signalling the end, for now at least, of any meaningful opposition to President Putin.

Mr Magomedov was unexpectedly arrested in March 2018 following an investigation by personnel involved in the infamous Magnitsky affair. During his pre-trial detention Mr Magomedov’s strategic assets, the Far Eastern Shipping Company and the Black Sea Port Novorossiysk were unlawfully seized and placed into the hands of Kremlin-controlled companies. These assets play a vital role in maintaining Russia’s war economy.

Despite agreeing to post bail, Mr Magomedov was detained for over 4 years before being convicted of financial crimes which he vehemently denies, and sentenced to 19 years imprisonment following a trial which occurred largely in secret.

His real crime was a political one: speaking his mind behind closed doors directly to Russia’s leadership and seeking to resist the disastrous path along which Russia has been taken. These political “crimes” are being aggravated by the pursuit of extensive, eye-opening conspiracy claims advanced in the English High Court which are unsettling the Kremlin, and proxy figures close to the Putin regime.

Mr Magomedov faces increasingly deteriorating conditions having recently been transferred to a penal colony in Kirov, remote Russia on the notorious Stolypin train, described by Amnesty as “cruel inhuman and degrading”.

As he gradually exhausts his avenues of appeal in Russia, Mr Magomedov’s only hope of justice is the continued pursuit of his High Court claims. His family and all those seeking to support him are obviously fearful for his health and well-being and concerned that he will be deprived entirely of his ability to liaise properly with his legal team. His Russian lawyers in particular feel intimidated by the recent steps taken to restrain Mr Magomedov from pursuing his legal claims in England. He is now entirely reliant on the safeguards of the international community to ensure that he is not silenced and that he does not suffer the same fate as Mr Navalny. 

A London court slapped PJSC Transneft, the world’s largest oil pipeline company, with an injunction linked to a jailed Russian oligarch’s $13.8 billion claim alleging his business empire was unlawfully seized in a sprawling conspiracy led by the Russian state.

The notification injunction will require Transneft to inform Ziyavudin Magomedov’s lawyers of any significant transactions the company wishes to make, because there is a “real risk” its assets will be siphoned away, Judge John Butcher said in a High Court judgment on Wednesday.

The precise terms of the injunction are yet to be finalized, but it is likely Transneft must give notice of any intention to reorganize or alter its capital structure. However, the order would not need to require the pipeline company to give advance notice of its intention to acquire shareholdings or manage litigation proceedings, the judge said.

Read the full article in Law 360.

Russian state-owned oil pipeline company Transneft has had its ability to move funds restricted after a UK court granted an injunction against the firm as part of a $14bn lawsuit.

Russian tycoon Ziyavudin Magomedov – who is currently in prison in Russia – filed the lawsuit at the High Court earlier this year. Magomedov launched the lawsuit after his holdings in valuable port operators were seized as part of what he claims is a state-backed conspiracy.

He was arrested in Russia in 2018 and in 2022, and eventually sentenced to 19 years in prison on embezzlement charges and had numerous assets frozen.

Magomedov had a significant stake in one of Russia’s largest ports Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) as well a stake in a Russian logistics giant FESCO Transport Group.

His claim targets 22 defendants including Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom, oil pipeline operator Transneft, private equity firm TPG and UAE-based port operator DP World.

His lawyers filed an application for a notification injunction Transneft to the court last month.

The injunction, which was approved by the court yesterday, obliges Transneft to inform Magomedov’s lawyers, Seladore Legal, in advance of any significant transactions it wishes to make and applies to Transneft for the foreseeable future, until the dispute between the parties is resolved.

The judge found that there was a real risk that Transneft might dissipate its assets prior to any judgment, noting that there had already been redomiciliation of Transneft’s assets outside of Russia and “an elimination of intermediate layers of foreign ownership of Russian assets”.

Commenting on the decision, Simon Bushell, the senior partner of Seladore Legal, acting for Magomedov, said: “This is a welcome decision and a very important step in the right direction.”

Lawyers for Transneft were contacted for comment.

This is an article from City AM.

 

A jailed Russian oligarch is seeking almost $14bn in damages in London’s High Court from defendants including US private equity group TPG over an alleged Kremlin-led conspiracy to seize his assets.

Lawyers for Ziyavudin Magomedov claimed in filings made public this week that TPG founder David Bonderman was part of a conspiracy to sell a stake in Fesco, which controls the Pacific port of Vladivostok, that Magomedov was entitled to.

Read the full article in the Financial Times.

US private equity giant TPG has been sued by a jailed Russian oligarch in London’s High Court over a claim that the firm was involved in a conspiracy to seize or acquire his assets for below-market value.

Ziyavudin Magomedov has brought the nearly $14bn claim against US-listed TPG, according to 31 August court filings, alleging the firm’s involvement in a conspiracy to seize assets from him or to acquire them at less than their market price.

Read the full article in Financial News.

Russian tycoon Ziyavudin Magomedov, jailed at home in Russia, has launched a London lawsuit seeking nearly $14 billion over his holdings in valuable port operators, which he says were seized as part of a state-backed conspiracy.

The businessman filed the lawsuit at London’s High Court on July 20 against several defendants, including Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom, oil pipeline operator Transneft, private equity firm TPG and UAE-based port operator DP World.

Read the full article in Reuters.