Kazakh court allows Naftogaz of Ukraine to recover $1.4 billion from Russia’s Gazprom

Naftogaz of Ukraine has obtained permission to enforce the recovery of around $1.4 billion from Russia’s Gazprom in Kazakhstan after the Astana International Financial Centre Court recognized the arbitration award and allowed its enforcement in the country in favor of Naftogaz, according to the company’s press service.

According to Naftogaz, this is the first publicly known foreign court ruling recognizing and granting permission to enforce the arbitration award against Gazprom over unpaid gas transit services in a separate jurisdiction.

“The court’s decision in Kazakhstan is another practical result in the process of recovering funds from Gazprom. We are consistently moving forward and working to enforce the arbitration award across multiple jurisdictions,” said Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi.

Naftogaz’s interests in the Kazakhstan proceedings were represented by legal advisors from ADL Disputes and Wikborg Rein.

History of the case

The dispute is related to Gazprom’s refusal to fully pay for natural gas transit through Ukraine, in breach of its contractual obligations.

Under the 2019 Agreement on the Organization of Natural Gas Transportation, Naftogaz was obligated to organize the transportation of natural gas across Ukraine for Gazprom until the agreement expired on January 1, 2025.

In May 2022, due to the actions of Russian occupation forces, gas transit through the Sokhranivka entry point in the Luhansk region became impossible. Despite this, Naftogaz continued to provide gas transit services through the Sudzha entry point in the Sumy region.

The GTS Operator of Ukraine declared force majeure after losing access to Sokhranivka. Naftogaz proposed transferring all transit volumes from Sokhranivka to Sudzha. However, Gazprom refused to transfer the volumes and reduced payments, contrary to the take-or-pay principle.

In September 2022, Naftogaz initiated arbitration proceedings in Switzerland under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), as предусмотрено by the agreement.

In June 2025, the Swiss arbitration tribunal issued its Final Award, holding Gazprom fully liable for failing to meet its payment obligations and finding no justified grounds for non-payment. The tribunal ordered Gazprom to pay the outstanding debt for gas transportation organization services, interest, and arbitration costs.

In January 2026, the Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected Gazprom’s appeal, finally confirming the validity of the award.

As Gazprom has not voluntarily fulfilled its obligations, Naftogaz is conducting an international campaign to recover the debtor’s assets across multiple jurisdictions.