Successfully Leading a High-Stakes Cross-Border Deal Amid Sanctions: A Milestone Achievement
Achieving Excellence in Complex Cross-Border Transactions.
Over the past two years, REDBRIDGE faced an extraordinary challenge representing a group of shareholders from Zurich, Switzerland, who had invested in a multi-million dollar manufacturing enterprise in Russia up until 2022. The sanctions imposed on Russia brought about significant legal hurdles, complicating the protection of our clients’ interests due to complex domestic and international legal requirements.
In a situation where conventional strategies were not enough, our team had to think outside the box to navigate the intricate legal landscape. Through innovative solutions and relentless dedication, we successfully safeguarded our clients' assets and secured their rights. We are proud to announce that the deal has been completed with full regulatory approval, allowing our clients to exit their shareholder positions and receive the full value of their shares.
This outcome highlights our ability to overcome significant legal challenges with creative and strategic thinking, reinforcing our commitment to excellence and client success.
Congratulations to Gevorg Tumanov, the Partner who led this case, and to the entire team of lawyers for their outstanding work and dedication.
MAC Affiliate Conference in Yerevan
Redbridge is honored to have served as the legal advisor for the recent MAC Affiliate Conference in Yerevan.
We are thrilled to have supported Europe’s biggest affiliate conference, which took place on May 30-31, 2024, in the vibrant city of Yerevan. This event brought together over 2500 attendees from 50+ countries, including industry leaders, marketers, and innovators, to discuss the latest trends and developments in affiliate marketing.
Our team at Redbridge provided comprehensive legal guidance to ensure the success and smooth operation of this landmark event. We are grateful to the organizers for their trust and to all the participants for their active engagement and insightful contributions. Witnessing the dynamic exchange of ideas and the collaborative spirit of the conference was truly inspiring.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with the MAC Affiliate Conference and supporting future initiatives that drive progress and innovation.
Gevorg Tumanov appointed to the AMCA’s roster of arbitrators.
He is included in the AMCA's “International arbitration cases” list of arbitrators.
The new rankings are live on IFLR1000.com
We are pleased to inform you, following the in depth research process, peer review, and client feedback, Redbridge has been newly ranked for: Financial and corporate.
Jurisdiction: Armenia
Practice area: Financial and corporate
Redbridge rating: Notable
Lawyers rating (Gevorg Tumanov): Notable practitioner
The ICSID ad hoc Committee’s Decision on Annulment dated 21 July 2023
In ICSID Annulment Proceeding (Edmond Khudyan v. Republic of Armenia) the Members of the ad hoc Committee unanimously decided as follows:
a. The ground for annulment under Article 52(1)(b) of the ICSID Convention has been made out;
b. The Committee concludes that the Tribunal manifestly exceeded its powers and upholds Mr. Khudyan’s application for annulment of parts of the Award under Article 52(1)(b) of the ICSID Convention;
c. Paragraphs mentioned insofar as it concern the Applicant and of the Award are hereby annulled;
d. The funds held in escrow in accordance with the Committee’s decision on the Applicant’s Stay Request, together with all interest incurred thereon, are to be paid to Mr. Khudyan; and
e. The Republic of Armenia shall pay to the Applicant the sums determined by the ad hoc Committee's Decision on Annulment.
Members of the ad hoc Committee:
Sir Christopher Greenwood, GBE, CMG, KC, President
Ms Tina Cicchetti, Member
Dr Ucheora Onwuamaegbu, Member
Representing Mr. Edmond Khudyan:
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Washington, D.C. 🇺🇸
Redbridge LLC
Yerevan 🇦🇲
CAN BANKS CARRY OUT INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS WITHOUT SWIFT?
What is SWIFT?
SWIFT is a messaging service that substantially facilitates information exchange between banks and other financial institutions. Transactions transmitted via SWIFT are settled by payment systems that facilitate much larger volumes than SWIFT itself. For example, the U.S. Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) is owned by large U.S., European, and Japanese banks and facilitates most large-value, cross-border, dollar-denominated payments. This system has internal messaging systems to facilitate payments without relying on SWIFT, but a large share of high-value, cross-border payments involve a SWIFT message.
Who owns and controls SWIFT?
- SWIFT was created by American and European banks, which did not want a single institution developing their own system and having a monopoly.
- SWIFT helps make secure international trade possible for its members and is not supposed to take sides in disputes.
Blocking Sanctions and Delisting from SWIFT
- These measures impose a prohibition on the provision of financial messaging services to delisted banks that are directly or indirectly owned (50% or more) by a delisted bank.
- Banks could carry out international transactions without SWIFT, but it is expensive, complex and requires mutual trust between financial institutions. It brings payments back to the times when telephone and fax were used to confirm each transaction.
Banning Banks from SWIFT
- The ban prevents banks from making or receiving international payments using SWIFT. This has negative consequences for the targeting economy.
- Banks can neither get foreign currency (as a transfer of foreign currency between two banks is generally processed as a transfer abroad involving a foreign intermediary bank) nor transfer assets abroad.
- Block states' foreign exchange reserves and prevents key banks from conducting global fast and efficient financial transactions.
Sanctions against the National Central Banks and assets freeze: Russian case
- As the EU has prohibited all transactions with the National Central Bank of Russia related to the management of the Russian Central Bank's reserves and asset freeze, it can no longer access the assets it has stored in central banks and private institutions in the EU.
- Russia cannot use this cushion of foreign assets to provide funds to its banks and thus limit the effects of other sanctions.
- The EU has also prohibited the sale, supply, transfer and export of euro-denominated banknotes to Russia. The aim is to limit access to cash in the euro by individuals or legal persons in Russia with a view to preventing the circumvention of sanctions.
- Remove Russia's access to capital markets, increase borrowing costs for the sanctioned Russian-owned financial institutions and progressively erode the country's industrial base.
International banks and the direct and indirect effects of financial sanctions
- Direct effect: European banks' equity prices dropped (compared to US banks) and the cost of equity increased. However, credit default swap spreads experienced a more modest decrease, suggesting investors' trust in banks' stability.
- Indirect effects: one of the major indirect effects is the impact on deposit insurance schemes, both in terms of higher bank payments and payouts to customers.
How is this latest ban impacting day-to-day operations within international banks?
- Financial institutions across the globe will be carefully assessing their exposure to Russia.
- Operations and compliance teams will be applying a major focus on accounts and relationships that may have connections to Russian entities and individuals, including politically exposed persons (PEPs).
- Financial institutions will quickly identify which clients (many of which have complex ownership and control structures) have beneficial owners with roots in Russia or exposure to Russian PEPs.
- Automating client due diligence and client behavioral analysis to ensure real-time identification of emerging risks.