Russia has nominated former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud as its arbitrator in an international investment treaty dispute involving Oschadbank, Ukraine's state-owned bank. The proceedings stem from the bank's claims over assets and business operations it says were lost following Russia's military actions in Ukraine.
Dispute Over Ukrainian Assets
Initiated under the 1998 Russia-Ukraine bilateral investment treaty, the arbitration stems from Oschadbank's claims of massive asset losses in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following Russia's 2022 invasion.
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The claim is reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Oschadbank initiated the proceedings after Russia allegedly failed to respond to a notice of dispute issued in July 2025.
The present proceeding remains separate from Oschadbank's prior Crimean arbitration, which resulted in a tribunal ruling awarding the bank roughly $1.1 billion, plus accrued interest, for assets expropriated following the 2014 annexation.
Three-Member Tribunal
The tribunal will comprise three arbitrators. Dyalá Jiménez, a Costa Rican arbitrator and former trade minister, will serve as the tribunal president after being jointly selected by Russia and Oschadbank.
Chandrachud has been nominated as Russia's arbitrator, while Stavros Brekoulakis, a Greek arbitrator and professor at the National University of Singapore, was selected by Oschadbank.
Chandrachud's Earlier Rejections
Chandrachud's appointment comes after he reportedly declined previous approaches from Russia to serve as its arbitrator in separate investment treaty disputes involving German energy company Wintershall Dea and Ukrainian state energy company Ukrenergo.
The earlier approaches reportedly came on the same day that the Permanent Court of Arbitration had designated Chandrachud as the appointing authority in the Wintershall proceedings. Chandrachud later relinquished that role after disclosing the communications.
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This data comes from Oschadbank's July 2025 Notice of Dispute and April 2026 Notice of Arbitration, along with reporting by Global Arbitration Review and Bar and Bench, reported India Today.
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