Legal Games End up Forcing BNY Mellon to Partially Freeze Kazakh SWF Assets
A series of complicated legal battles in multiple jurisdictions has led to partial assets of a sovereign wealth fund being frozen by a custodial bank. Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has frozen US$ 22.6 billion in assets that are held by Kazakhstan’s National Oil Fund. The Justice Ministry of Kazakhstan acknowledged that BNY Mellon had initially decline to freeze assets of the National Fund in response to rulings via the courts in Belgium and the Netherlands. However, on October 30, 2017, BNY Mellon had changed its position and moved to freeze the assets, according to the Justice Ministry of Kazakhstan.
Moldovan businessman Anatolie Stati and his son Gabriel Stati, and two of their companies – Ascom Group, S.A. and Terra Raf Trans Traiding Ltd., are in a multi-year legal war against the Kazakhstan government. The Moldovan businessmen claim they were harassed by the Kazakhstan government to forcibly sell their investments in the country’s oil and gas industry at a below market price. The Kazakhstan government denied the allegations against the Stati parties. [ Content protected for Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Standard subscribers only. Please subscribe to view content. ]
New appointments have been made to the Board of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZ Super). The appointments were made on July 19, 2018. The three new board members are Catherine Drayton, Simon Botherway and Henk Berkman.
According to the NZ Super press release, “Simon Botherway’s appointment runs from 1 August 2018 to 30 September 2021. He is a professional director with a history in investment, investment regulation and supervision. Other board roles have included his current position as Chair of Serko, a director on Callaghan Innovation and previously being the Chair of the FMA Establishment Board and a member of the Securities Commission.
Henk Berkman will serve from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2022. He has been Professor of Finance, Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Auckland since 2008. Mr Berkman has held previous professorial positions at Massey University, University of Sydney and the University of Maastricht.
Catherine Drayton will serve from 1 November 2018 until 30 September 2022. She is a Christchurch-based director who previously led the Assurance and Advisory Practice for PwC in Central Eastern Europe. Her public sector governance experience includes her current role as Chair of Christchurch International Airport and as a member of the University of Canterbury Council. Her experience as a Director of Ngai Tahu Holdings has provided her with iwi governance experience.”
The Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) appointed Jacqueline (Jackie) Sheppard as a member of the board of directors for a term set to expire on June 30, 2021. [ Content protected for Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Standard subscribers only. Please subscribe to view content. ]
Law firm Grant & Eisenhofer won a landmark case for its clients after a seven-year legal duel in Dutch courts. On July 13, 2018, the Amsterdam Court of Appeals officially approved the largest securities settlement ever reached in Europe, paving a path for international insurance company Ageas N.V./S.A. to begin payment of US$ 1.5 billion (€1.3 billion) to multiple groups of institutional and individual investors from Europe and the United States. [ Content protected for Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Standard subscribers only. Please subscribe to view content. ]
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