Forget Argentina: How Do You Collect from Russia?

Never let it be said that the wheels of international justice spin quickly, but, with the pace of a Siberian jail sentence, the Permanent Court of Arbitration finally handed down its merits award in the Yukos litigation.  (For those of you not in the know, Yukos was dismantled by the Russian government, nominally as seizure for back taxes -- some levied ex post -- purportedly as an attempt to stymie the political aspirations of its principal, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.)  The decision is a doozy: a unanimous and stinging denunciation of the Russian government in this series of transactions, with such zingers as "calculated expropriation" and accusations that the governmental scheme was "devious."  The award of a cool $50 billion was far less than the plaintiffs wanted but was a record-setter for the Court.

Russia, of course, is vowing "appeal" (not quite sure to where -- strongly worded letter?), but this really means the fight now enters the collection phase.  Maybe Russia has some frigates to grab?

Here's a link to the ruling.