Zaiwalla & Co has represented
clients from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan..
..and the other states of the former Soviet Union for decades. We advised the claimant in OJSC Rosneft Oil Company v Her Majesty’s Treasury, a matter featured in The Lawyer’s list of the top 20 global disputes litigated in the English courts in 2015.
We are a City of London firm practising the law of England and Wales, and our lawyers are qualified in both England and the region. Our team includes fluent Russian and Kazakh speakers, and we work with sister firms in Moscow, St Petersburg, Astana, Kyiv and Lviv, so a matter can be run locally, across borders or from London.
How was our Russia
and CIS practice built?
Russian and Kazakh ownership fights built the practice. Companies and individuals from the region came to London because the English courts would decide who owned what, and we built the practice on hostile corporate takeovers of the kind known in Russian as reiderstvo, alongside banking, investment, shipping and family disputes originating in the region.
Our lawyers have an in-depth knowledge of the legislation and case law applicable to the Russia and the CIS jurisdictions. We have represented clients from the region in the English courts and in arbitration, and advised on settling disputes of this kind, in commercial litigation and in arbitration.
Our expertise
We act for companies and individuals from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus and the wider CIS, in the Commercial Court, in LCIA, LMAA and ICC arbitration, and before OFSI, whether you are claimant or respondent and whether the exposure is contractual or sanctions related. Our regional work includes:
Shareholder and corporate control disputes
Shareholder and corporate control disputes, including hostile takeovers, unlawful share transfers and derivative claims
Fraud, asset tracing and worldwide freezing
Fraud, asset tracing and worldwide freezing orders, and defending claims of misappropriation
Sanctions advice
Sanctions advice under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, including designations, ownership and control and OFSI licence applications
Anti-suit and anti-enforcement
Anti-suit and anti-enforcement injunctions where a Russian court has been asked to take exclusive jurisdiction under Article 248
Banking, finance and guarantee disputes
Banking, finance and guarantee disputes, including payment blocking and frustrated loan facilities
Shipping, charterparty and cargo disputes
Shipping, charterparty and cargo disputes, including price cap attestations, insurance and vessel designations
Investment treaty claims
Investment treaty claims and public international law advice for investors and state entities
Enforcement of English judgments and awards
Enforcement of English judgments and awards against assets in England and Wales, and resisting enforcement
Family, matrimonial finance and inheritance disputes
Family, matrimonial finance and inheritance disputes with a connection to England and Wales
Immigration, reputation and privacy work
Immigration, reputation and privacy work for individuals whose designation has affected their position in England
Former and ongoing work
Our reported record includes
some of the largest CIS
disputes heard in London
We acted in Kazakhstan Kagazy Plc v Zhunus, where the Commercial Court continued a worldwide freezing order in the sum of £72 million in November 2013, and the claims were tried before Picken J with the trial judgment given on 22nd December 2017. The sums in issue were later described in the same litigation as approximately US$300 million.
In Erdenet Mining Corporation LLC v Kazakhstan we acted in a £25 million dispute between a Mongolian and Russian mining company and the Government of Kazakhstan. In OJSC Rosneft Oil Company v Her Majesty’s Treasury the Divisional Court granted permission to seek judicial review of the European Union restrictive measures on 9th February 2015 and referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ruled on 28th March 2017.
Over 90 per cent of our clients are based outside Britain, and we have 125 reported cases in the United Kingdom.
Speak to our team
To find out more about our work in Russia and the CIS, please phone +44 20 7312 1000 or email info@zaiwalla.co.uk.
Frequently asked questions
Can you still act for a Russian company?
Yes, subject to the sanctions regime. Acting for a designated person is permitted where the work falls within a licence or a general licence, and legal advisory work and litigation costs are covered by defined licensing grounds. The prohibitions bite on payments, on making funds or economic resources available and on specified services, so the analysis starts with who owns and controls your company and how the fees will be paid.
What does the oil price cap require?
That the Russian origin crude or oil products carried using United Kingdom services were bought at or below the capped price, evidenced by attestations passed along the chain. The cap on crude fell to US$47.60 per barrel on 2nd September 2025 and to US$44.10 on 31st January 2026. Shipping, broking, insurance and flagging services are prohibited without compliant attestations, so the documentation trail is the compliance.
Can a Russian court override your arbitration clause?
A Russian court can assert exclusive jurisdiction under Article 248 of the Russian Arbitration Procedure Code and has done so since 2020. The English courts have granted anti-suit and anti-enforcement relief in response, and the Court of Appeal has considered the point in the RusChemAlliance and VTB litigation. Relief depends on the seat, the governing law and how quickly you apply, and an application made after the Russian proceedings are well advanced is far harder to win.
Where do you check UK designations now?
On the UK Sanctions List, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation closed its Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets on 28th January 2026, and the UK Sanctions List is the authoritative record. Screening should also cover entities owned or controlled by a designated person, because those are caught by the asset freeze without appearing on the list themselves.
Can you sue a state’s trading arm?
Often yes. Section 3 of the State Immunity Act 1978 removes immunity for proceedings relating to “a commercial transaction entered into by the State”, and section 9 removes it where the state has agreed in writing to arbitrate. A state entity trading commercially in England is not shielded simply because it is state owned. Immunity from execution against state property is a separate question and is much harder to overcome.
What is reiderstvo and can you fight it?
Reiderstvo is the hostile takeover of a company by forged documents, corrupted registers, criminal complaints against directors or captured court process, practised across the former Soviet Union. Reiderstvo can be fought in England where the target, its shares, its money or its group companies touch this jurisdiction, using freezing orders, disclosure orders against banks, proprietary claims and, where the wrongdoing is documented, committal for breach of court orders.
What is your next step?
Please contact us by email – info@zaiwalla.co.uk or by telephone on +44 20 7312 1000. We will tell you whether the English court has jurisdiction, whether sanctions affect the work, what interim relief is available, and how quickly you need to apply for it. We can also provide commercially astute legal advice on any applicable sanctions if required.