NEW STREAM TRADING AG
Well established, highly reputable trader of petroleum products for over 10 years.
PRESS RELEASE
Zug, 30 May 2023
New Stream Trading AG Files Claim against Sberbank and TradeXBank AG in Switzerland
On 15 May 2023, New Stream Trading AG (NST) filed a statement of claim against Sberbank of Russia and TradeXBank AG (formerly known as Sberbank (Switzerland) AG), in the cantonal court of Zug, Switzerland. This legal action follows prior conciliation proceedings and aims to protect NST's rights in light of Antipinsky Oil Refinery's default on product deliveries under prepaid contracts with NST, when it was under the full control of Sberbank of Russia and Switzerland.
NST's initiation of this legal process is part of its effort to obtain appropriate recourse for the substantial damage Sberbank of Russia and Switzerland caused it. With a successful outcome achieved under English law against Sberbank and its affiliated entities in the London Court of Arbitration last year, NST is resolute in pursuing substantial damages in Switzerland for violations of Swiss law.
NST remains steadfast in its pursuit of justice and will work diligently to ensure its interests are protected throughout the legal proceedings.
Zug, 24 June 2022
Conclusion of the London-seated LCIA arbitration initiated against Sberbank of Russia, Sberbank (Switzerland) AG and their related parties – further legal actions of New Stream Trading AG
On 4 April 2022, a senior Tribunal constituted under the arbitration rules of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) rendered its final award on the proceedings initiated by New Stream Trading on 10th September 2019 against Sberbank of Russia, Sberbank (Switzerland) AG and their related parties (Sberbank). In its a 754-page decision, the Tribunal found that Sberbank caused the bankruptcy of Antipinskiy Oil Refinery (ANPZ) by deliberate and coordinated actions. The Tribunal dismissed the efforts by Sberbank to accuse New Stream Trading AG (NST) or Russia-based entities of Novy Potok of causing the refinery’s bankruptcy. Notably, the Tribunal ruled that Sberbank “had full control of the management of ANPZ from mid-November 2018” and that several intentional actions of Sberbank were “clear cases of Sberbank of Russia procuring the breaches by ANPZ of existing contracts” respectively “involved the breaking, threatening to break or procuring the breach by ANPZ of its contracts with Offtakers”.
As a result, the Tribunal concluded that Sberbank of Russia drove ANPZ into bankruptcy causing also the destruction of the Claimant‘s business and in so doing, prevented ANPZ and NST from fulfilling their contractual obligations under the Facility Agreement between Sberbank, ANPZ and NST (FA). The Tribunal also ruled that Sberbank of Russia’s affiliates Sberbank (Switzerland) AG and SBK breached the FA.
The Tribunal has set aside or discharged all of NST’s liabilities vis-à-vis Sberbank of Russia and Sberbank (Switzerland) AG, whether those arise under guarantees or loans. The discharged or set aside guarantees amounted to more than one billion US dollars. The discharged loans amounted to more than 50 million US dollars. The Tribunal has also ordered Sberbank to reimburse 85% of NST’s legal fees. The award has not been challenged and is therefore final.
The award by the eminent LCIA Tribunal proves that New Stream Trading has always been a law-abiding and reliable company. NST is now undertaking before the Swiss debt enforcement authorities and courts the legal actions necessary to obtain compensation and further honour its commitments towards its business partners, who have been damaged by ANPZ’s bankruptcy.
To that end, on 31 May 2022 NST has filed a claim against Sberbank of Russia and Sberbank (Switzerland) AG in the cantonal court of the canton of Zug, Switzerland. The Swiss claim has been filed in the context of the on-going pursuit and protection of NST’s rights following Antipinsky Oil Refinery’s default on its product deliveries under prepaid contracts with NST being under full control of Sberbank as from the end of 2018.
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Zug, 11 September 2019
New Stream Trading files for arbitration against ANPZ, Sberbank and related parties
On 10 September 2019, New Stream Trading AG (NST) filed a request for arbitration against the Antipinsky Oil Refinery (ANPZ) as well as Sberbank of Russia, Sberbank (Switzerland) and related parties at the LCIA in London. NST’s claim is estimated at several hundreds of millions of dollars.
NST commenced formal legal proceedings given the considerable damage caused to NST by the respondent parties’ actions, including among other things ANPZ’s default on product deliveries despite having received very substantial prepayments for products, and Sberbank’s conduct as main lender to the refinery, much of which is publicly known.
NST regrets this turn of events, especially since it previously collaborated closely with ANPZ, one of Russia’s largest and most modern refineries, in promoting and selling ANPZ’s products outside Russia.
NST is obligated to vindicate its rights and restore its reputation and relationships in the energy trading community, including its valued offtaker clients, who have also been harmed due to the acts and omissions of ANPZ and Sberbank giving rise to NST’s claims.
NST has always operated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. It is committed to pursuing its claims until it achieves justice and adequate compensation through an orderly and impartial arbitral process.
NST is represented by the London office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
NST will be making no further comment at the present time.
PRESS RELEASE
Zug, 7 August 2019
New Stream Trading AG (NST), a Swiss company engaged in refined products marketing activities since 2009, wishes to state for the record that it denies any allegations of wrongdoing suggested in recent press coverage regarding its past transactions with the Antipinsky Refinery. NST likewise denies that the pricing of the Refinery’s products, as alleged by certain media outlets, was below market.
In this respect, NST wishes to refute certain erroneous statements made in the press, which are allegedly attributed to the Refinery’s former financing partner Sberbank of Russia OJSC (Sberbank). It has been reported that Sberbank or its representatives, among other things, have publicly cast doubt on whether the prices at which the products manufactured by the Refinery were sold to NST were market prices. Those supposed doubts are unfounded. NST cooperated closely with Sberbank at all times, and Sberbank has always been informed of NST’s commercial activities and transactions. NST regularly reported to Sberbank and/or its advisors its monthly sales volumes, furnished to Sberbank copies of sales contracts and financial statements, and gave Sberbank full oversight of and complete visibility into NST's sale proceeds remitted through NST's bank accounts at Sberbank. Moreover, NST’s marketing margins, which had always complied with the requirements of Sberbank's credit facility for the Refinery, were at all times known to Sberbank.
In addition, recent press coverage has failed to acknowledge that NST, as the main exporter of the Refinery, performed a key risk management function for the Refinery in the form of hedging and chartering activities. Those press releases addressing the margins achieved by NST incorrectly base their analysis on reference prices in isolation and do not take into account the hedging, delivery, transportation, insurance and other costs incurred by NST.
This approach is misleading at best. Certain products like naphtha and ULSD were purchased by NST from the Refinery on a FOB basis and then marketed to third parties on a CIF basis, which means that NST had incurred all associated delivery, transportation and other costs for such CIF sales. A simple check of chartering markets clearly demonstrates that NST was an active participant in the Baltic freight market.
NST was audited each year in accordance with IFRS standards by one of the "big four" accounting firms. Those audit reports were then submitted to Sberbank, as well as to NST’s trading partners and their lenders. NST previously also engaged one of the "big four" accounting firms to conduct a transfer pricing and benchmarking study, which confirmed that the prices in the transactions between NST and the Refinery were market prices.
NST has always acted and continues to act lawfully, with full transparency and complete integrity towards Sberbank, its commercial partners and their lenders, and Swiss and other authorities and market regulators. NST wishes to underscore that any statements in the press to the contrary are untrue and libelous, and reserves its right to sue before the competent courts of justice the persons issuing and propagating such statements.
NST remains committed to assisting with any investigations of or answering any inquiries from any competent authorities regarding this matter.