UPDATE 1-Dutch Supreme Court denies Russia's appeal against $50 billion Yukos payout

Russia then took the case to the Supreme Court, which in 2021 referred it back to a lower court, to consider whether Russia's claim that shareholders provided false evidence was wrongly rejected. The Amsterdam appeals court last year dismissed this claim, saying Russia had brought it too late. In a final move, the Supreme Court on Friday said it saw no grounds to change the appeals court ruling.

The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal by Russia against a $50 billion arbitration award it was ordered to pay to the former shareholders of now-defunct oil producer Yukos in 2014.

The ruling follows years of legal wrangling in Dutch courts after the original arbitration tribunal ruling found that Moscow had violated its international obligations by taking actions designed to bankrupt Yukos, formerly Russia's largest oil company. Yukos collapsed in 2006 after oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky fell out with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the government began demanding billions of dollars in alleged back taxes that resulted in Yukos ultimately being seized by the state.

A lower Dutch court dismissed the penalty in 2016, only to see it reimposed on appeal. Russia then took the case to the Supreme Court, which in 2021 referred it back to a lower court, to consider whether Russia's claim that shareholders provided false evidence was wrongly rejected.

The Amsterdam appeals court last year dismissed this claim, saying Russia had brought it too late. In a final move, the Supreme Court on Friday said it saw no grounds to change the appeals court ruling.