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.
