GENEVA, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - Switzerland's federal court Tuesday banned the trading firm Noga from impounding Russian property to secure the repayment of debts under barter oil deals struck with Russia's government in the early 1990s.
Noga claims the Russian government owes an estimated 1.185 billion Swiss francs (about $950 million) under food-for-oil contracts it unilaterally terminated shortly after signing them in 1991 and 1992. The contracts' total worth is said to be $1.4 billion.
Since 1993, the Swiss firm has repeatedly attempted to seize Russian property abroad, including by freezing Russian Central Bank accounts in France and arresting a sailing ship and warplanes brought into the country for shows.
Last November, it impounded a Russian museum's artworks on a touring exhibition in Switzerland, but the Swiss government then stepped in to secure the pictures' release and safe return home.
Judges with the Swiss federal court said Tuesday that a final decision on Noga's legal dispute with the Russian government rests with a Paris court of arbitration.
