Arthur Zurabyan, of ART DE LEX, commented on the decision of a German court to reject Sintez’s law suit against RWE
A court of Essen rejected the claim of Rustenburg, who represents the interests of the Sintez Group of senator Leonid Lebedev, against the German energy concern, RWE. A representative of the Court in Essen, Johan Hidding, told Bloomberg that the court refused to initiate proceedings. Similarly, an arbitration court in London already had refused to hear the case. Hidding added that a case against Jürgen Grossmann, the head of RWE, still can take place in Germany. A representative of Rustenburg confirmed the news.
Sintez filed the case against RWE and its former head in 2011, but the hearing began this winter. The plaintiff demanded EUR 675 million and an undisclosed amount of interest. Sintez based its financial claim on the damage that had resulted from a failed transaction in 2008 with RWE. Sintez and RWE agreed in 2008 to establish a joint venture. In March of that year, in the interest of the future enterprise, Sintez, through Kores Invest, bought 44.8 percent of the ordinary shares of TGK-2 for RUB 16.5 billion from RAO UES of Russia. Afterward, other parts of Sintez bought an additional 8 percent of TGK. In the summer of 2008, Kores Invest gathered almost 40 percent of the common shares of TGK-2, with a total value at about RUB 15 billion. Then, RWE rejected the deal, calling it “inappropriate” in a crisis. Sintez unsuccessfully attempted to seize back USD 1.4 billion in 2008 through international arbitration in London.
Yesterday, representative of RWE, Sabin Jeschk, said that the arguments of the plaintiff are contrived. The decision regarding Grossman, she said, was “merely procedural,” since the court has not yet considered the basis of the claims against Grossman. “We are pleased that the court recognized the claim against Grossman to be acceptable,” remarked a representative of Rustenburg. The representative added that, after having “carefully studied the decision,” the company plans to appeal the decision regarding the claim against RWE.
