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Russian court bans Austria's OMV from Stockholm arbitration against Gazprom

A Russian court ruling on Wednesday banned Austrian energy company OMV Gas Marketing and Trading GmbH from pursuing arbitration proceedings in Stockholm against the exporting arm of Kremlincontrolled Gazprom.

The TASS news firm likewise stated that the Court of Arbitration of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region threatened to fine OMV 575.2 million euros ($ 624.26 million) if the Austrian business proceeded with the arbitration in courts outside Russia.

Gazprom and some other Russian business are trying to move lawsuit to Russia from global arbitration. A lot of the disagreements stem from the breakdown of organization relations in between Russia and the West over the dispute in Ukraine.

This case is another example of the increasingly widespread and invalid practice of particular Russian companies to prevent validly agreed worldwide arbitration proceedings with the help of Russian courts contrary to their contractual commitments, OMV said in a statement.

It stated that OMV considered the Russian legal procedures to be invalid and in breach of the principles of a fair trial and appropriate laws. OMV is preparing an appeal.

OMV highly believes that the choice of the Russian court should not be acknowledged, supported or imposed in any jurisdiction, consisting of Russia, it said.

The court also released the same ruling in April versus OMV Exploration and Production GmbH, forbiding it from seeking global arbitration.

OMV's Chief Executive Officer Alfred Stern stated last month that OMV had actually initiated arbitration proceedings against Gazprom, worrying among other matters its stake in a Russian gas field.

Individually, OMV said on Wednesday that gas supplies from Gazprom might be suspended in connection with a foreign court judgment, without determining the case. OMV ensured the marketplace it would have replacement cover.