The Kazakh Ministry of Justice has stated that the decision to recover funds from Gazprom in favour of Naftogaz will not be enforced
Kazakhstan’s Minister of Justice, Erlan Sarsembayev, has stated that the ruling by the Astana International Financial Centre’s court recognising the arbitral award in the dispute between Naftogaz of Ukraine and Gazprom will not be enforced within Kazakhstan.
This refers to the Swiss arbitration ruling of June 2025, under which the Russian company was ordered to pay Naftogaz approximately $1.4 billion.
According to Sarsembayev, the IFAC’s court order was issued unilaterally without the defendant’s participation and has not yet entered into force.
“This is not a final decision. It is of a notifying nature and has not yet entered into force. The defendant has the right to file an application for annulment, after which a full hearing will take place with the participation of both parties,” the minister stated.
He emphasised that Kazakhstani legislation does not provide for mechanisms to enforce decisions that have no connection with the country’s jurisdiction or the ICAC court.
Sarsembayev noted that PJSC Gazprom is not a member of the ICAC, the disputed agreement was not concluded within the centre, and the parties did not sign an agreement to refer the dispute to this court.
The Minister also recalled that Kazakhstan is a party to the 1958 New York Convention, under which the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is carried out in accordance with the procedural rules of the state of enforcement.
He added that in Kazakhstan, an application for enforcement is filed with the court at the place where the dispute is being heard, or at the location of the legal entity or its assets. According to Sarsembayev, Gazprom’s location is known.
The Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan also reported that work is currently underway on amendments to the legislation regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.
The dispute between Naftogaz and Gazprom concerns an agreement on the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory, concluded in 2019. In September 2022, Naftogaz initiated arbitration proceedings over Gazprom’s failure to pay for gas transportation services.
In June 2025, an international arbitration tribunal in Switzerland ruled that Gazprom must pay $1.37 billion to Naftogaz. In March 2026, the Naftogaz Group announced a final victory in the dispute over the gas transit debt.
Last week, the court of the Astana International Financial Centre recognised the arbitral award and authorised the enforcement of the recovery of funds from Gazprom within Kazakhstan.
