5th of July 2022, Washington DC
The Republic of Croatia has lost an international arbitration case launched by MOL, the Hungarian national oil and gas company over Zagreb's failure to adhere to obligations under an agreement concerning the gas business of the jointly-owned Croatian oil company, INA.
William Boyce QC was instructed by Peters & Peters and helped secure a substantial win for MOL Group regarding corruption allegations made by Croatia against it and its Chairman-CEO, in an arbitration initiated in 2013. MOL alleged that the government in Zagreb had failed to take over INA’s loss-making gas business or apply market prices for gas, which it had agreed to do in 2009.
MOL is the largest shareholder in INA with a 49.08% stake, followed by the Croatian government with 44.84%.
An international arbitral tribunal established under the ICSID Convention resoundingly and unanimously rejected corruption allegations made by the Republic of Croatia against MOL and its Chairman-CEO, Zsolt Hernádi. Convention awarded MOL over US$235 million in damages, including interest, and ordered Croatia to pay most of the cost of the proceedings.
Peter FitzGerald from Peters & Peters said the following:
“William Boyce QC was absolutely critical to achieving this resounding dismissal of Croatia’s decade-old corruption allegation against MOL and Mr Hernádi. His strategic input at all stages of the case was extremely valuable, and both his masterful cross-examination of the principal Croatian witnesses and his powerful and compelling oral submissions were vital in allowing MOL to demolish Croatia’s case on corruption.”
William Boyce KC