Global Trade Alert

On May 17, 2011, the Kiev's Appellate Business Court issued a ruling that transferred back to the Ukrainian government a 68.01 per cent stake in ZALK, an aluminium smelter. This aluminium smelter was owned by the Russian company RusAl, the world's largest aluminium producer. The justification of this decision was that RusAl failed to meet the investment requirements set at the time the plant was privatised in 2001. RusAl immediately announced that it would challenge this ruling.
On September 8, 2011 the Ukraine's Supreme Court reviewed the nationalisation of ZALK and demanded a re-examination of the first judgment. On March 23, 2012, the first judgment was confirmed and the 68.01 per cent stake in the ZALK smelter returned to Ukraine's state property fund.
This measure is included in the GTA database because the nationalisationwas forced and the compensation is most likely tothe detriment of foreign commercial interest.