CIS & Eastern Europe

Our CIS team comprises of a number of Ukrainian qualified lawyers and several Russian language speakers who either speak Russian as a second language or who have lived in one of the countries of the former Soviet Union. As such we are well attuned to the business climate in the CIS as well as to the issues which often arise in disputes related to the region. We not only work with Ukrainian and Russian speaking clients but can also often be found in situ meeting with clients in short order when the need arises, collaborating with local counsel and both organising and speaking at conferences throughout the CIS. We also feature widely in the legal press and CIS language publications.

We regularly achieve significant victories for our CIS related clients who hail from a range of different backgrounds, whether it be successful entrepreneurs, businesspeople, banking institutions, governmental organisations, multinational corporations, professionals or individuals in a wide range of sectors, from financial and banking to coal production, oil and gas, technology. We also bring financial litigation clout to disputes over assets in England which may be subject to matrimonial rights.

Examples of CIS & Eastern Europe Work

Acting for the Ukrainian Deposit Guarantee Fund and a consortium of Ukrainian banks in their actions against previous ultimate beneficial owners and managers believed to be complicit in the misappropriation of funds worldwide with a combined value of close to $1 billion. 

Acting on behalf of a CIS holding company in a multi-jurisdictional dispute over a substantial stake in a prominent CIS bank. In parallel, a number of claims were heard by the LCIA in accordance with contractual (including fraud) and tortious claims. Related proceedings were conducted in Cyprus, Russia, Italy and New York. The competing claims of the parties were worth approximately $1 billion. CANDEY achieved initial success resulting in a partial award in the clients’ favour on a number of significant jurisdictional issues, and which was the precursor to the parties reaching an amicable settlement in October 2020.

Representing two BVI holding companies involved in a Cyprus joint venture dispute over a major CIS mining company. In this high-stakes shareholder dispute, CANDEY's clients successfully secured a partial LCIA arbitration award in their favour, with further proceedings pending in Cyprus and London as the dispute continues. The value of our clients' claims, including the value of the underlying asset, exceeds $500 million.

Acting for a major (insolvent) CIS oil refinery in complex LCIA arbitration proceedings with a state bank over a number of ultimately consolidated contractual and tort claims in excess of £200 million. During the proceedings, CANDEY secured the discharge and overturn of the mandatory aspects of an interim injunction originally handed down by the English High Court in support of the LCIA proceedings, which also resulted in a ground breaking judgment on the application of section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (which deals with the circumstances in which the Court can intervene in arbitral proceedings). 

Acting for Natalia Rotenberg, defending her against two appeals in the Court of Appeal in relation to a High Court award of a £35 million mansion in Surrey. This case raises important aspects of the contested trust law and is likely to set a new precedent in English law.

Representing the minority shareholders of a mining company in a mining plc in a corporate dispute to the value of £10 billion.

Representing a Kazakh Bitcoin mining entity in a dispute with a power producer following the illegal confiscation of Bitcoin producing servers.

Acting for a Kazakh entrepreneur in a dispute over theft of bitcoin from his BVI company by his fellow shareholders, restoring the company and appointing liquidators.

Representing a Bulgarian gas company in a High Court dispute in relation to inflated fees of previous service providers.

Representing a Bulgarian claimant in an ICC arbitration seated in Paris against Russian parties concerning an alleged breach of a non-compete clause.

Advising the CIS subsidiary of a metals and mining conglomerate in defending LCIA claims brought by a Swiss distributor for alleged non-acceptance of certain goods.