LONDON (Reuters) – Sergei Pugachev, a tycoon once dubbed “Putin’s banker” because of his influence in the Kremlin, has filed a claim against Russia for more than $10 billion after his business empire was carved up when he fell out of favour with President Vladimir Putin.
Lawyers for Pugachev yesterday issued notice of a claim against Russia that is likely to be heard in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, a source close to Pugachev told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Pugachev’s lawyers will outline his claim against Russia on Tuesday in Paris, the source said.
It was not immediately possible to get a response from the Russian government, which is seeking Pugachev’s arrest for embezzlement and misappropriation of assets, charges he denies.
Moscow is already fighting a separate ruling by the same court in 2014, which ordered it to pay $50 billion for expropriating the assets of Yukos, once Russia’s biggest oil producer and run by Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
“Mr Pugachev has patiently waited for this moment to strike with this massive investment claim second only to Yukos,” said a person close to Pugachev who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“He wants to ensure that those persons responsible for the unlawful taking of his businesses, including those in the Kremlin, are named and shamed,” the source said.
Since leaving Russia in 2011, Pugachev, 52, has accused Putin’s allies of bringing his multi-billion dollar business empire to its knees before picking off some of its best assets.
