A Russian bank threatens to initiate international arbitration against Ukraine over the confiscation of its assets Economy

The Russian National Commercial Bank (RNCB) said on its website that it had demanded compensation from the Ukrainian authorities for the “illegal confiscation of assets,” as the bank described it, adding that it would initiate international arbitration if Ukraine did not provide a response within 6 months, according to TASS. Russian.

The agency said that on June 3, 2024, the bank sent an official notification to the Ukrainian authorities regarding the existence of a dispute on the basis of the agreement concluded between the government of the Russian Federation and the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers on the encouragement and mutual protection of investments dated November 27, 1998.

The notice included a confirmation of the bank’s intention to initiate international arbitration against Ukraine, and its call for international legal responsibility, according to what was reported by TASS.

Copies of the notification were sent to the Ukrainian president, prime minister and the country’s ministers of justice, foreign affairs and finance, and the bank referred to the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, according to TASS.

TASS said that the bank proposes to settle the dispute by paying it fair compensation for the confiscation of its assets.

She added that if there is no response from Ukraine within 6 months, “the bank intends to initiate arbitration proceedings on the basis of Article 9 of the agreement.”

The bank indicated that the dispute is related to the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, which resulted in damages suffered as a result.

Russia had suggested that the West would lose assets and investments amounting to no less than $288 billion if it confiscated frozen Russian assets in order to help in the reconstruction of Ukraine, and Moscow subsequently responded to this step, according to what the Russian Information Agency reported.

The United States and its allies banned transactions with the Russian Central Bank and Ministry of Finance following the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war in February 2022, which led to the blocking of about $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets in the West.