Telangana High Court restrains share transfer in ₹2,840-crore German-Russian arbitration dispute

The Telangana High Court has restrained the transfer of shares held by Russian entities in Pioneer Aluminium Industries Limited while hearing a petition to enforce foreign arbitral awards worth about ₹2,840 crore in a dispute between German financial institution OWH SE i.L. and companies linked to Russian aluminium giant United Company RUSAL International PJSC.(OWH SE i L Vs United Company Rusal).Justice T Madhavi Devi passed the interim direction in execution proceedings seeking enforcement of arbitral awards issued by a tribunal under the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).The Court directed AL Plus Holding LLC, a subsidiary linked to the Rusal group, not to transfer its shareholding in Pioneer Aluminium Industries Limited to the extent of about 26% until the next date of hearing..The matter has been listed for further hearing on April 7, 2026..The dispute arises from two foreign arbitral awards issued in London by a three-member tribunal comprising Jonathan Nash KC (Presiding Arbitrator), Dame Elizabeth Gloster DBE and Andrew Lenon KC.According to the enforcement petition, the tribunal awarded:€213.77 million under an award dated September 25, 2024€33.83 million as additional interest under a subsequent award dated August 29, 2025Together with accrued interest and legal costs, the total claim sought to be enforced in India amounts to approximately ₹2,840 crore.OWH SE has asked the High Court to declare the awards binding and enforceable in India as if they were decrees of the Court..OWH SE told the Court that it has already attempted enforcement in Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Jersey, England and Wales, Cyprus, Kazakhstan and Qatar, but has recovered only a small portion of the award amount so far.The company alleged that the award debtor restructured its corporate holdings and moved assets across subsidiaries, making enforcement difficult in those jurisdictions.During the hearing, counsel for OWH SE argued that Rusal controlled the Indian investment through a chain of subsidiaries. It was submitted that Rusal owns 100% of MK Gershvin LLC, which in turn owns 100% of AL Plus Holding LLC, and that these entities together hold around 26% shares in Pioneer Aluminium Industries Limited, which has its head office in Hyderabad and assets in Andhra Pradesh. Importantly, OWH SE told the Court that the awards had already survived challenge proceedings in England. It said the award debtors’ challenge before the London Court of International Arbitration was dismissed, and that a further challenge under Section 68 of the English Arbitration Act before the High Court of Justice, Commercial Court, London was also dismissed..OWH SE submitted that it had approached courts in nine different countries to enforce the arbitral awards but had been unable to recover the dues due to the tactics allegedly adopted by the award debtor. .After considering the rival submissions, the Court noted that United Company RUSAL International PJSC was the arbitral award debtor and that an appeal against the arbitral award had already been dismissed.In order to ensure that the award was not defeated by any attempt to divert assets, the Court restrained AL Plus Holding from transferring its shares in Pioneer Aluminium Industries to the extent of 26% of the company’s total shareholding until the next date of hearing..The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate Vivek Reddy with Advocates VV Sivakumar, Akash Nath, Lisha T, Sayanti Chatterjee and Sriram Reddy from Dua Associates. .The respondents were represented by Senior Advocate KK Sharma with Advocates Anand Mohan Murthy and Vimal Vasi Reddy. .[Read Judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.