MOSCOW, August 7 – RAPSI. Russian company Rosgaz is demanding that the decision of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICAC) which invalidated the sale of Hungaria's gas trader Emfesz be nullified.
The Moscow Commercial Court is set to hear the Rosgaz suit against Cyprus’ Mabofi Holdings Limited on September 18.
According to the plaintiff, ICAC decision was rendered with procedural violations. The plaintiff's representative stressed that the court went beyond the relevant parameters of the discussed issue. Additionally, he claimed that one of the arbitrators worked both as a judge and as an advocate, presenting a conflict of interest issue.
The plaintiff also claims that during the hearing of the dispute ICAC did not listen to the position of former Emfesz Director, Istvan Gozzi, who participated in the transaction in dispute.
The sale of Emfesz to Switzerland’s Rosgas A.G. for a symbolic price of $1 was completed in 2009.
Emfesz Deputy Director Tamas Gazda, who represented the interests of the Swiss firm, was the purchaser in the transaction. During the transaction, Mabofi Holdings Ltd., controlled by Ukrainian entrepreneur Dmitro Firtash, had a 100 percent stake in Emfesz’s charter capital.
Later the Hungarian courts adjudicated a number of lawsuits on the legitimacy of the Emfesz sale.
On March 15, ICAC confirmed that the sale of the trader’s shares was illegal.