Alexander Lazarev

Representing:

• a major Russian steel plant in a USD 200 million SCC arbitration against a Chinese contractor
• a leading Turkish development and construction company in multiple ICC and ICAC arbitrations (each involving claims worth hundreds of millions of US dollars) arising out of construction projects in Russia and the CIS
• prominent Russian businessmen and their companies in LCIA arbitrations and related Cypriot court proceedings concerning the development of a landmark hotel complex in Moscow, with claims totalling several billion US dollars

Advising:

• a group of Eurobond holders (claims worth approximately USD 240 million) in connection with restructuring and a potential enforcement action against a leading Russian transport and logistics company that controls the Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port, following non-performance under two Eurobond issues

Representing:

• a major Russian business group in the British Virgin Islands courts in a USD 1 billion dispute regarding a joint venture in the power generation sector, involving disagreements over JV arrangements and allegations of fraud, collusion and misrepresentation
• a private client in a large-scale criminal investigation in an EU Member State regarding alleged money laundering, where the authorities ultimately declined to bring charges, confirmed the absence of any criminal offence, and closed the case with prejudice
• a prominent Russian businessman and affiliated foreign companies in two sets of proceedings seeking anti-suit injunctions to prohibit existing and future litigation in multiple jurisdictions, conducted in courts of all instances in several Caribbean states, including the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which ultimately dismissed both applications
• Russian subsidiaries of an international food production group in a dispute exceeding USD 30 million over losses arising from the collapse of a warehouse

Advising:

• a major power generation company in investigations and court proceedings in Cyprus and Singapore aimed at obtaining evidence for use in Russian litigation, including applications for Norwich Pharmacal disclosure orders against dozens of respondents

Representing:

• a foreign state agency in the multibillion-dollar bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings of two major Russian banks — International Industrial Bank and AMT Bank (formerly BTA Bank) — and advising on related litigation arising in the course of those insolvency cases
• a prominent Russian businessman in a dispute concerning asset freezes imposed in connection with efforts to impose secondary liability on the former management of a major Russian bank
• a leading Austrian retail group in over 35 court proceedings and several bankruptcy cases in Moscow and Saratov in connection with the unlawful misappropriation of retail assets worth tens of millions of US dollars across more than 30 supermarkets in Moscow and Tula, and their pledge to major Russian banks
• a major Russian energy company in proceedings seeking to impose secondary liability on a former Russian minister and other individuals for the debts of a large engineering group in bankruptcy, including coordination of multiple successful ancillary proceedings in courts of several jurisdictions

Representing:

• a major Greek bank in several high-profile disputes in courts of Moscow and the Moscow Region concerning enforcement over pledged assets, and in subsequent bankruptcy proceedings of the Russian subsidiaries of a Greek development conglomerate arising from non-performance of a loan agreement governed by Greek law with exposure of EUR 40 million
• a major German bank in multiple proceedings in Rostov, Stavropol, and Krasnodar against one of the largest agro-industrial groups in the CIS and its subsidiaries, regarding non-performance of an English law loan agreement, with claims totalling USD 300 million
• a German real estate development group in a series of disputes in Russia against a prominent Saint Petersburg businessman concerning the bankruptcy of a Russian subsidiary allegedly caused by a sham loan arrangement, including efforts to impose secondary liability on the parent companies for the debtor’s obligations
• a group of oilfield companies in Russian commercial arbitrazh courts in proceedings on interim measures in support of litigation pending in the state courts of the Republic of Cyprus
• the owner of a luxury hotel and business centre in central Moscow in a dispute with minority shareholders arising out of a mandatory tender offer to acquire shares worth over USD 100 million

Providing:

• comprehensive advice and representation services to a private client across multiple jurisdictions on the protection of the client’s honour, dignity, and business reputation, as well as on strategic PR matters. This included leading and coordinating teams of foreign counsel in several EU countries, developing litigation strategy in reputation disputes abroad (with successful outcomes such as injunctions against foreign media, written undertakings to cease dissemination of defamatory statements, etc.), and designing an integrated PR strategy covering media relations and demands for replies and retractions
• legal support to the PR department of a major Russian investment group, including media relations, preparation of requests and demands for response and retractions, pre-trial work, and representation in court proceedings, including in foreign jurisdictions

Representing:

• a private client before law enforcement authorities in an EU Member State (including filing a criminal complaint), as well as in a number of other jurisdictions, in connection with a defamatory campaign orchestrated via an anonymous Telegram channel
• a prominent Russian businessman in court proceedings in the Baltic states seeking removal of defamatory publications and obtaining interim measures to block access to harmful content

Advising:

• a Russian investment fund on removal of a defamatory article published on the websites of Russian and US media outlets