Final Victory
- Leonid Nevzlin
- 18.10.2025, 16:14
Justice must always prevail.
I would like to congratulate the GML team and all those involved in the long-running Yukos case on today's final victory in the Dutch Supreme Court.
Putin's lawless campaign began with the Yukos case in 2003. Since then - through Georgia, Ukraine and beyond - his regime has sought and continues to seek to destroy the world.
Those of us who were targeted in the Yukos affair never gave up. We trusted each other, used all democratic and legal means to prove that under the leadership of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and our team, Yukos turned from a loss-making company into Russia's largest and most successful oil company by 2003.
Today's victory confirms a simple truth: justice must always prevail!
I call on all those who have been cheated or robbed by authoritarian power - investors, citizens and entire countries - to use the power of independent courts and democratic principles to turn losses into legitimate victories.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Ukraine victory - and I will say it again and again.
With our shared determination, Ukraine will defeat the forces of evil, no matter how much time and effort it takes.
GML Press Release:
The Dutch Supreme Court has rejected Russia's latest appeal in the Yukos case.
The final ruling paves the way for the recovery of the Russian state's assets around the world.
GAAGA, October 17, 2025.
The Dutch Supreme Court today rejected Russia's last remaining legal appeal against compensation awarded to most Yukos shareholders for the illegal expropriation of their investments more than twenty years ago.
The Supreme Court press release states, "With this decision, the Supreme Court has finally concluded the process to set aside the arbitral awards initiated by the Russian Federation."
As legal remedies are exhausted, the largest arbitral awards in history - now in excess of $65 billion including interest - become final, irreversible and enforceable against Russia's state assets around the world.
GML Commentary
GML CEO Tim Osborne, who is representing former Yukos shareholders in the 20-year fight to hold Russia accountable, said after the Dutch Supreme Court ruling:
"Today's historic and final decision by the Dutch Supreme Court is not only a victory for the shareholders, but also a reaffirmation of a fundamental principle of justice: no state, even one like Russia, is above the law.
But true justice requires that the judgment be enforced, so we will now focus all our efforts on recovering Russian state assets around the world until every cent of the more than $65 billion awarded is paid.
Compensation for illegal expropriation is final and irreversible
Russia's destruction of Yukos began in 2003. After nearly a decade of litigation, an independent arbitration tribunal in 2014 unanimously found the expropriation illegal and politically motivated and awarded the former major shareholders more than $50 billion in compensation, the largest arbitration awards in history.
With interest included, the amount now exceeds $65 billion.
The Hague Court of Appeal confirmed the awards in February 2020. The Dutch Supreme Court upheld them generally in November 2021, sending only one minor issue back to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal.
On February 2024, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal rejected Russia's remaining appeals. Russia filed another appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court, which has now also been rejected - the arbitral awards of over $65 billion have become final and irreversible.
Real justice demands that the awards be enforced.
As Russia stubbornly refuses to comply with the law and pay compensation, the former shareholders are forced to resort to seizing and selling Russian state assets around the world.
In the meantime, the recovery process is already underway. In June 2024, former Yukos shareholders successfully auctioned off a number of Russian Federation trademarks in the Netherlands, including the well-known Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya brands. Additional enforcement actions are also underway in the Netherlands.
In addition, former Yukos shareholders are pursuing litigation in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Luxembourg and Singapore to obtain recognition of arbitral awards, a preliminary step towards the recovery of Russian state assets in these countries.
Over the past twenty years, Russia has systematically ignored international judgments and binding court orders, treating them as an unfortunate stumbling block rather than a legal obligation Realizing a recovery will not only provide justice for the former shareholders, but will also strengthen the international legal system by showing that violating international law and ignoring court decisions has real consequences.
About GML
GML represents the former majority shareholders of Yukos Oil, once Russia's most successful, transparent and Western-oriented company.
In 2003, when Yukos' independence became a threat to the Kremlin, its CEO was arrested, the company was bankrupted on trumped-up tax charges, and its assets were transferred to state-owned Rosneft.
Leonid Nevzlin, "Telegram"