Kazakhstan will not enforce a court ruling allowing Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz to recover $1.4 billion from Russia’s Gazprom, Justice Minister Yerlan Sarsembayev reported.
According to Monday’s reports, the dispute stems from a gas transit contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom that was disrupted after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In June 2025, Switzerland’s Federal Arbitration Court ruled in favor of Naftogaz, awarding the Ukrainian company $1.4 billion in damages.
On Thursday, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) court recognized the international arbitration ruling, opening the door for Naftogaz to pursue Gazprom assets in Kazakhstan.
But Sarsembayev said Kazakhstan would not act as “a transit platform” for enforcing rulings with no legal connection to the country.
“Kazakhstan’s legal mechanisms do not provide for the consideration of disputes unrelated to its jurisdiction,” he said, adding that the AIFC ruling “will not be enforced on the territory of Kazakhstan.”
According to the minister, the AIFC court’s authority applies only to disputes specifically transferred to it by agreement between the parties involved.
He noted that Gazprom was not registered as a participant in the AIFC system, the disputed transaction did not occur under AIFC jurisdiction, and neither side agreed to have the case heard there.
The underlying dispute stems from Gazprom’s refusal to fully pay for gas transit services under the 2019 Russia-Ukraine Gas Transit Agreement, which remained in force until Jan. 1, 2025.
In May 2022, Russian occupying forces rendered the Sokhranivka entry point inoperable.
Naftogaz continued transit through the Sudzha entry point but Gazprom stopped paying in full, breaching the contract. Naftogaz initiated arbitration proceedings in Switzerland under International Chamber of Commerce rules in September 2022.
In June 2025, the tribunal issued its final award, finding Gazprom fully liable and ordering repayment of the outstanding transit debt plus interest and arbitration costs. Gazprom’s appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal was dismissed in January 2026, formally confirming the award’s validity.
With Gazprom declining to comply voluntarily, Naftogaz launched an international asset recovery campaign spanning multiple jurisdictions. ADL Disputes and Wikborg Rein are representing Naftogaz in the Kazakh proceedings.
Previously, Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank registered seizure of Russian assets in France worth approximately €87 million ($99 million) as a part of an award of damages against Russia for expropriating the bank’s assets in annexed Crimea.
In 2018, the Arbitral Tribunal in Paris ruled in favor of Oschadbank in its case against the Russian Federation. After annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia illegally expropriated Oschadbank’s assets in Crimea – premises and debts from corporate debtors involved in solar energy projects.
The court decision awarded Ukraine’s bank over $1.1 billion of compensation for damages incurred due to the unlawful expropriation.