Ukraine’s richest man is suing Russia for damages to compensate for the billions of dollars he claims his companies have lost since the invasion.
Rinat Akhmetov, owner of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, where Ukrainian troops defied a long siege, filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
#RinatAkhmetov, the founder of System Capital Management Group, a company targeted by Russian forces during the invasion, is suing Russia for billions in court European Human Rights.https://t.co/BWAlEg2Jm4 pic.twitter.com/nNceGe4iuO
– Forbes Ecuador (@forbesecuador) June 20,
Its holding company System Capital Management (SCM) says it is suing Russia for “serious violations of its property rights” and is seeking a court order “that prevent Russia from participating in more blockades, looting, diversion and destruction of grain and steel” produced by its companies.
“Evil cannot go unpunished. Russia’s crimes against Ukraine and our people are heinous, and the culprits must be held accountable,” SCM was quoted as saying by him.
“The looting of Ukraine’s export commodities , including grain and steel, has already caused higher prices and starving people around the world. These barbaric actions must stop and Russia must pay in full”, added SCM.
Video: Images of a Russian attack with ‘phosphorus bombs’ in Azovstal are released https://t.co/UWLrX5H953
– El Diario Nueva York (@eldiariony) May 17, 2022
However, when asked about the lawsuit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was no longer under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.
“We left the (jurisdiction of) relevant documents. Therefore, the answer here is absolutely obvious,” he said.
Russia has previously rejected Ukraine’s accusations of stealing from the territories it has occupied during what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine.
Forbes magazine estimated Akhemtov’s net worth at $13,400 millions of dollars in 2013. Since then, his business empire has been marred by Russia’s invasion and by years of fighting in eastern Ukraine since Russian-backed separatists seized territory there in 2013.
He said last month that his company Metinvest, Ukraine’s largest steelmaker, had suffered losses of between $15,000 and $20,000 millions of dollars due to the Russian bombing of its steel plants in Mariupol. The final amount would be determined in a lawsuit, he said.
Also read: · After the Russian bombing of a shopping center in Ukraine, they report at least 13 dead and 20 wounded Video: This is how Russian troops fire mortar shells at Ukrainian targets · Video: Images of a Russian attack with ‘phosphorus bombs’ in Azovstal are broadcast
