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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Croatia's
government said it will appeal the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal of the United
Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) which dismissed
Croatia's claims against Hungary's MOL in a case concerning Croatian oil and gas
company INA, reported SeeNews.
The
government will seek for the ruling to be annulled by the Federal Court of
Switzerland, it said in a statement late on Friday.
Also on Friday, MOL
released parts of the UNCITRAL ruling.
"Having considered most carefully
all of Croatia’s evidence and submissions on the bribery issue, which has been
presented in a most painstaking and comprehensive way, the Tribunal has come to
the confident conclusion that Croatia has failed to establish that MOL did in
fact bribe Dr Sanader," the Hungarian company said in a filing to the Budapest
bourse. "Accordingly, Croatia’s case that the FASHA (First Amendment to
the Shareholders Agreement) and GMA (Gas Master Agreement) be
rendered null and void due to the alleged bribery fails."
In 2015,
Croatia ordered a retrial of former prime minister Ivo Sanader for taking bribes
from MOL to allow it to acquire control over INA although the Hungarian group
only holds a 49.08% stake. The Croatian Constitutional Court, which had among
other charges sentenced Sanader for taking a bribe from MOL, annulled its ruling
on the grounds that he was not given a fair trial due to procedural
errors.
A year earlier Croatia filed for international arbitration
against MOL with the aim to cancel a 2009 deal which saw MOL gain managerial
rights over INA without holding a majority stake.
After losing the case
to MOL, Croatia is now planning to buy back MOL's shares in INA, although
securing the necessary cash for the purchase has proven to be an
issue.
The Croatian government controls 44.84% of INA, while
institutional and private investors hold a stake of 6.08%.
Croatia has
also lodged a suit against MOL before the International Centre for Settlement of
Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington. A ruling is expected this
year.
As MRC informed before,
MOL previously said Hungarian authorities had dismissed the allegations against
MOL, which now holds a 49.1% share of INA.
MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas PLC
is an integrated oil and gas company. The Company produces crude oil, petroleum
products, bitumens, lubricants and natural gas. MOL owns and operates
refineries, oil and gas pipelines, service stations, and natural gas storage
facilities. Hungary's government holds a 24.6% stake in MOL. Besides,
Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat (TVK, part of MOL) is a Hungarian manufacturer of olefins
and polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Feedstock is supplied by
MOL of which TVK is a subsidiary and which also processes a major portion of
resulting by-products from the olefins plant. |
