Maxim Kulkov speaks at Dubai Arbitration Week 2025

On 10 November, KK&P Managing Partner Maxim Kulkov took part in a discussion entitled Recent Developments in International Arbitration: England, Russia and the UAE. The seminar was prepared jointly with McNair International, Habib Al Mulla & Partners and ALRUD Law Firm.

Maxim focused on recent changes in judicial practice regarding the prosecution of Russian affiliates of foreign defendants in cases brought by courts under the Lugovoy Law.

In particular, two important decisions rendered by the Russian Supreme Court in the Citibank and Sovcombank cases were considered. In these cases, the court held that the mere fact of affiliation with the debtor is insufficient to hold Russian affiliates liable. It is necessary to prove that they lacked de facto independence and acted merely as a “corporate front” for their parent company. The court did not provide any clear criteria for a legal entity’s lack of independence, leaving this issue to the lower courts.

According to Maxim, the Russian Supreme Court cannot completely ignore the principle of legal entity autonomy by allowing debt collection from any affiliate of the debtor, as this would undermine the entire legal system. At the same time, the possibility of foreclosure on the property of Russian affiliates of foreign corporations could be used as a counterweight to negotiations regarding frozen Russian assets abroad. This is one possible reason for the “flexible” approach, allowing for adjustments to the position depending on changing political circumstances.

The other speakers were Khawar Qureshi KC (McNair International), Dr Habib Al-Mulla (Habib Al Mulla and Partners), Joseph Dyke (McNair International) and Dmitry Kuptsov (ALRUD Law Firm).

Pravo.ru’s report on the seminar (available in Russian): https://pravo.ru/story/261142/