The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in July 2014 that Russia owes $50 billion to the shareholders for confiscating the assets of Yukos in 2003, then Russia's largest oil producer, and giving them to the state-run oil company Rosneft.

Yukos had been operated by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Once he was the country's richest entrepreneur but was arrested on charges of tax violations in 2003 and sentenced to prison in 2005. He was only released after President Vladimir Putin pardoned him in December 2013.

Khodorkovsky argues that the case against him and Yukos was merely revenge for his political opposition to Putin. The court in The Hague agreed, saying the case against both Khodorkovsky and Yukos was politically motivated.

The Yukos shareholders, represented by GML, Yukos' former holding company, said it would be very difficult to persuade the Russian government to reimburse them. In fact, Russia has refused to pay the damages, so the shareholders persuaded courts in Belgium, Britain, France and the United States to enforce the ruling piecemeal.