Luxembourg cancels arrest of SIF shares

On October 28, Palais de Justice, Luxembourg ruled to cancel the arrest that had been placed over the shares of Steel Invest and Finance (SIF) in June 2011 based on a claim from Nikolay Maximov.

Mr. Maximov’s claim was based on the decision of the International Commercial Arbitration Court (ICAC) on March 31, 2011, which had awarded Mr. Maximov approximately RUR 10 billion from NLMK. Despite the fact that in April 2011 the Moscow City Arbitration Court issued a ruling to overturn the ICAC award holding it to be unlawful, Mr. Maximov has filed a lawsuit with the Luxembourg court seeking an order to enforce the ICAC award on NLMK International BV, an NLMK affiliate, claiming it to be NLMK’s “co-debtor”.

Mr. Maximov asserted having a debt claim against NLMK International BV. The court relied on this claim to block SIF shares, the property of NLMK International BV.

Court proceedings have established that NLMK International BV is not a party in the conflict, and that Mr. Maximov had attempted to mislead the Luxembourg court and misinterpret the Dutch laws. Based on this, the court supported NLMK’s position and cancelled the arrest of SIF shares. Mr. Maximov’s claim with the Luxembourg court seeking to enforce the ICAC award is currently pending review.

For reference:

Steel Invest and Finance SA (SIF) comprises production assets (formerly part of JV with Duferco Group) located in Europe and the US. In July 2011 NLMK acquired 50% of Steel Invest and Finance from Duferco Group, which resulted in SIF becoming a 100% subsidiary of NLMK.