Russia Ordered to Pay $50B to Yukos Shareholders

Russia must pay a group of shareholders in defunct oil giant Yukos around $50 billion for expropriating its assets, a big hit for a country teetering on the brink of recession. The Hague's arbitration court said Monday it had awarded GML, a group of Yukos shareholders, just under half of their $114 billion claim, going some way to covering the money they lost when the Kremlin seized Yukos, once controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Tim Osborne, director of GML, welcomed the award, which he said was the largest ever, as "very favorable". He said Russia would likely attempt to delay matters. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would most likely appeal the decision, underlining that the shareholders, who have battled through the courts for a decade, will have to fight further to receive the compensation.