Susanna Papoyan

Defending Commerzbank in a dispute against a large Russian bank. The opponent commenced a dispute in connection with the freezing of his funds in accounts opened with the depository, whose funds were in turn frozen in a German bank due to European sanctions. The complexity of the dispute is based on the claim’s nature, i.e., the probability of qualification of the claim as of contractual or of tort nature.

Defending Commerzbank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Bayerische Landesbank (major German banks) in disputes against a Gazprom subsidiary relating to the refusal of clients to make payments to the opponent under bank guarantees due to sanctions restrictions. The claimant is currently attempting to recover funds from the clients through a Russian court despite the fact that the guarantees are subject to English law and contain an arbitration clause.

Defending Goldman Sachs in a number of disputes over the claims brought by a major bank and a Russian state corporation seeking recognition of the competence of Russian courts to hear the disputes (Article 248.1 of the Russian Commercial Procedure Code) arising out of the agreements on financial transactions and a cross-currency interest rate swap concluded between the parties. The claimants were sanctioned, the parties terminated the agreements on condition that the client would provide the termination amount to the claimants but, due to the prohibition on transactions with sanctioned parties, the client was unable to fulfil the obligations. Despite the arbitration clause, the opponents asked the Russian court to change the jurisdiction.

Defending a major bank's subsidiary in a dispute against Sovcombank (a major Russian sanctioned bank). The client’s UK affiliate and the opponent entered into agreements under which the opponent was allegedly owed RUB 1.4bn. The funds were transferred to a blocked account. The agreements contain arbitration clauses and are governed by English law, but the claimant is seeking to recognise the exclusive jurisdiction of Russian courts as well as apply Russian law due to sanctions. The project is complicated by the fact that the claimant intends to recover the debt not only from the client’s UK affiliate, as a counterparty to the agreements, but also from a Russian bank that is part of the client’s conglomerate, however, has nothing to do with the agreements in question.

Successfully defending a major audit firm in a dispute over a claim brought by the opponent, who declared that the audit reports prepared by the client were misleading. The complexity of the dispute is due to the fact that such cases are extremely rare in Russia, and there is no relevant detailed regulation or settled court practice. The claimant’s actions posed a serious threat to the client’s reputation as they cast doubt on the quality of the client’s services and may lead to the cancellation of the auditor’s qualification certificate.

Advising a major global leasing company on Russian sanctions and insurance regulations in a litigation in an English court. The dispute arose between the client and insurance companies, which refused to treat the failure to return more than one hundred aircraft leased to Russian airlines due to Russian export restrictions as an insured event.

Comprehensive support of the liquidation of a Russian food retailer with significant assets owned by foreign legal entities. The project includes support of the liquidator’s activities, as well as coordination of a tax law adviser. The liquidation is being conducted as part of a complex business sale transaction, one of the conditions of which is the termination of the retailer’s operations in the Russian market. The procedure is complicated by the need to comply with both the requirements of Russian law and the terms of the transaction. The range of services provided includes both legal support, including resolving complex issues, and standard liquidation measures, as well as control of tax risks.