"The Russian Ministry of Finance notifies that on January 28, 2015, the Russian Federation lodged three appeals with the District Court of the Hague against decisions by international arbitration in three separate cases initiated by former majority shareholders of the Yukos company on the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty," the statement said.
Yukos, formerly controlled by oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was declared bankrupt by a Moscow court of arbitration in 2006. Khodorkovsky spent a decade in prison for fraud and tax evasion until he was pardoned in December 2013.
Yukos managers claimed the Russian government had illegally forced the energy company out of business, which allowed Rosneft oil giant to snap up its assets and become the country's largest oil producer. Over the past few years, Yukos managers and investors have won several cases against Russia and the companies that acquired the assets.
