[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 104 (Thursday, July 12, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S4945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         YUKOS OIL COMPENSATION

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, Russia's weak rule of law is bad for the 
people of Russia, of course, but it also harms American citizens. As 
Congress considers legislation directed at strengthening human rights 
and the rule of law in Russia, we also should address the economic 
impact on Americans, including those Americans who are owed $12 billion 
when Yukos Oil, in which they held 15 percent of its stock, was 
expropriated by the Russia Government. To date, none of the American 
owners of Yukos caught up in Russia's renationalization of this company 
has received any compensation for this unlawful taking. And without a 
bilateral investment treaty, BIT, with Russia, the only recourse 
available to U.S. investors is for our State Department to espouse the 
case of its wronged citizens. I support this course of action, and I 
ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter I wrote 
with Senator Scott Brown to Secretary Clinton last October 27, 2011, 
that addresses this issue.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                 Washington, DC, October 27, 2011.
     Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
     Secretary of State, Department of State, C Street, NW., 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Madam Secretary: We are writing to ask that you seek 
     compensation from Russia on behalf of hundreds of thousands 
     of U.S. investors who have lost approximately $12 billion as 
     a result of Russia's expropriation of Yukos Oil Company. With 
     all other avenues exhausted for American investors, only 
     espousal by the United States can help to bring this matter 
     to an appropriate resolution.
       American investors collectively owned approximately 15 
     percent of Yukos at the time the Russian authorities began 
     dismantling the company. The American investors in Yukos 
     included several public pension funds and more than 70 
     institutional investors in at least 17 States. There also 
     were over 20,000 individual American investors who owned 
     Yukos shares directly, in addition to the hundreds of 
     thousands who owned shares indirectly through mutual funds.
       These investors have valid claims against Russia under 
     international law, but they have no mechanism to assert these 
     claims because there is no bilateral investment treaty (BIT) 
     in force between the United States and Russia. Other foreign 
     owners of Yukos have been able to initiate BIT claims, and a 
     UK investor recently won such a case. In a unanimous 
     decision, the arbitrators in the UK case concluded that 
     Russia had expropriated Yukos and that compensation was due.
       In June 2008, American investors formally petitioned the 
     State Department to undertake government-to-government 
     negotiations with Russia. We respectfully ask that you 
     espouse the claims of these Americans and seek payment from 
     the Government of Russia as soon as possible.
       Thank you for your consideration of our concerns. We look 
     forward to hearing from you.
           Sincerely,
     James M. Inhofe,
       U.S. Senator.
     Scott Brown,
       U.S. Senator.

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