Maire S.p.A. v LLC EuroChem North-West-2

Facts

The claimant, Maire S.p.A., an Italian company, guaranteed the performance of three contracts by which its subsidiary Tecnimont S.p.A. and Tecnimont's Russian subsidiary MT Russia LLC agreed to build the Kingisepp-2 ammonia production facility for the defendant, a Russian fertiliser producer held by Bright J to be controlled by Mr Andrey Melnichenko, who was designated for sanctions purposes by the UK and the EU in 2022. The K2 Contracts provided for London-seated ICC arbitration; the guarantees were governed by English law and contained English jurisdiction provisions. After EU sanctions followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine the contractors suspended performance, the defendant purported to terminate, and arbitration began in August 2022, in which the defendant participated and counterclaimed for over EUR 1 billion. After Bright J dismissed the defendant's claim against the bond-issuing banks, the defendant commenced proceedings in Russia, obtaining a judgment of approximately US$2.19bn and anti-arbitration injunctions, in breach of the tribunal's peremptory orders and of orders made by Butcher J and Dame Clare Moulder DBE under section 42 of the Arbitration Act 1996. It then sued the claimant in Russia under the guarantees. The claimant sought anti-suit relief; an interim injunction granted by Robin Knowles J went unanswered and unheeded, and the claim came on for expedited trial.