British Virgin Islands court unfreezes PIA assets in Reko Diq award case
Nasir Iqbal
May 25, 2021
The PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York. — Photo: Dawn/File
The High Court of Justice in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) on Tuesday ruled in favour of Pakistan in a case initiated by Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) for attachment of assets belonging to the Pakistan International Airlines Investment Ltd (PIAIL), including hotels in New York and Paris, as part of its efforts for the enforcement of the Reko Diq award.
“Pakistan has won the BVI case initiated by TCC to enforce the ICSID [International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes] award,” stated the International Disputes Unit (IDU) housed inside the Attorney General Office within the premises of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, adding that all ex-parte orders obtained by the TCC earlier had been set aside.
The TCC had initiated the case for the enforcement of the July 12, 2019, $5.97 billion award against Pakistan by the ICSID in the Reko Diq litigation.
“A short while ago judgement was announced by BVI High Court,” Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan said while talking to
Dawn, adding that it was a great legal victory for Pakistan as well as the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The AGP said all the orders earlier passed against PIAIL — a company which is also incorporated in the British Virgin Islands — had now been recalled by the BVI High Court, adding that it had also removed the receiver appointed from the Roosevelt Hotel, New York, and the Scribe Hotel, Paris. The cost of litigation was also awarded.
On December 16, 2020, the BVI High Court through an ex-parte order had attached the assets belonging to the Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited, including the company’s interests in the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, and Scribe Hotel in central Paris as well as frozen 40 per cent interest of PIA in a third entity, Minhal Incorporated. The BVI court in its Dec 16 order had also appointed the receiver on an interim basis.
The IDU said the BVI High Court had ruled that it had no jurisdiction to decide the matter and the receiver appointed had been discharged with immediate effect.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has also appreciated and lauded the efforts of the IDU and the office of the AGP that helped in securing a great victory for Pakistan, the IDU said.
It said that the provisional charging order against PIA’s companies was also set aside entirely, while TCC was also ordered to pay costs of the present proceedings. Thus the "attempt to steal Roosevelt and Scribe hotels has been frustrated", the IDU said.
"Justice prevails!" said PIA in a tweet after the verdict became public. "By the grace of Allah and with the prayers of all our countrymen, courts in BVI decide in favour of PIA, releasing all hard-earned assets i.e., Roosevelt NYC & Scribe Paris. Great victory for PIA and Pakistan. We won this together!"
Information about the attachment proceedings and the earlier order of the BVI High Court was
communicated to Pakistan on Dec 23, 2020.
At the time, the AGP office had said Pakistan would vigorously pursue proceedings initiated by TCC in any jurisdiction and that the government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting national assets wherever they might be located.
