Naftiran Intertrade Company (Nico) Limited & Anor v Greenland Limited & Anor

Facts

The claimants (together "NICO") are subsidiaries of the National Iranian Oil Company. In two sets of proceedings issued in the London Circuit Commercial Court (Claim 1 in 2020, and Claim 2 at the same time as Claim 1 was amended, to protect NICO's position on limitation), they sued the first defendant, Ferland (now G. L. Greenland Limited), and Mr Sokolenko, whom NICO say controls it. They claimed €28,431,516.69 (excluding interest) unpaid for Shah Deniz crude oil supplied under two contracts and letters of undertaking to pay. They also alleged that Mr Sokolenko had promised that certain assets would be applied to discharge those debts, creating a trust or a charge, and that he dishonestly assisted its breach. The two claims were ordered to be case managed and tried together. On 8 November 2024 the defendants issued their own claim (the "New Claim") for more than USD95.6m. They alleged that NICO had broken promises to hire the tanker Alexandra I after her collision in February 2015, to continue the Shah Deniz trade, and to write off Ferland's debts in exchange for a Delegation Agreement of 11 May 2016. The defendants applied for the New Claim to proceed as a counterclaim in Claims 1 and 2. NICO challenged jurisdiction under CPR 11.1. All three claims ended up in the Commercial Court. The applications were adjourned in February 2026 for further evidence. It then emerged that Ferland had been dissolved in Cyprus on 18 March 2025.