Anatoli Stati et al. v Republic of Kazakhstan

In a case that highlights both that governments are not above the rule of law and that it is difficult to swiftly enforce arbitral awards, a Swedish appeals court, on December 12, 2016, upheld a $506 million award against Kazakhstan. The award stems from Kazakhstan’s 2008 seizure of the oil and gas investments of two Moldovan businessmen. The Swedish appeals court refused to allow Kazakhstan to further appeal the award and also ordered the country to pay attorney’s fees in excess of $3 million.