Russian Oligarch Files $2Bln TNK-BP Lawsuit in New York

A Russian oligarch and senator is seeking $2 billion in New York from the sale of TNK-BP, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by RAPSI legal news service. Leonid Lebedev claims he was owed money from the sale of the British-Russian oil company via a stake he held in its Russian part. According to the document filed Tuesday in New York’s Supreme Court, Lebedev acquired a 15-percent stake in the Tyumen Oil Company (TNK) during Russia’s privatization process in the 1990s. A consortium of four Russian oligarchs known as AAR, which had a controlling stake in the company, struck a deal in 2003 to merge their assets with British oil major BP’s operations in Russia, resulting in the formation of TNK-BP. TNK-BP was bought by state-controlled Russian oil giant Rosneft last year after being plagued by a high-profile shareholder dispute between the Russian and British sides. The AAR consortium received $27.73 billion from the deal, of which Lebedev claims he received nothing. The businessman, who is also a member of the upper house of the Russian parliament, is now seeking damages of not less than $2 billion.

http://en.ria.ru/business/20140205/187230521/Russian-Oligarch-Files-2Bln-TNK-BP-Lawsuit-in-New-York-.html