Vasily Bakumenko Speaks at the Pravo.ru Litigation Forum

The forum brought together leading practitioners to discuss at what stage businesses should bring in external counsel, why losing a case does not always mean losing the dispute, how to keep a judge’s attention throughout the proceedings, and the challenges that have emerged in sanctions-related cases.

Vasily delivered a presentation onSanctions Disputes: Liability of Russian Subsidiaries of Foreign Companies. A Study of Case А40-167352/2023.».

He noted: “The Citibank case, No. A40-167352/2023, has effectively shaped the courts’ current practice, although the trend toward imposing joint and several liability on the Russian subsidiaries of foreign companies began earlier — the case law was simply inconsistent. The Supreme Court took a balanced approach in its ruling, leaving the lower courts with broad discretion. While the Court did not explicitly prohibit holding Russian subsidiaries liable, recent decisions show that judges have become more attentive in their analysis of the facts, and are increasingly declining to impose joint and several liability. That said, we do still sometimes see counter-examples.”

Read more about the key takeaways from the conference at the link.