The American investment fund Noble Capital RSD has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. federal court against the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and the National Wealth Fund for $225 billion.
Noble Capital RSD demands that Russia be recognized as having obligations on bonds of the Russian Empire issued in 1916.
The plaintiff insists that the debt on these securities can be settled using Russia's sovereign assets, which have been blocked due to sanctions imposed after 2014 and 2022.
Russia has already responded to the lawsuit, demanding the withdrawal of the claim regarding the 'tsarist' debt of $225 billion from the U.S. court.
The Russian Federation denies and has always denied responsibility for the old tsarist bonds of 1916, stated Sergey Sokolov, a partner at the Marks&Sokolov law firm, representing the interests of the defendants in the lawsuit by the American investment fund Noble Capital.
"This debt was annulled by the Soviet government in 1918. Neither the USSR nor the Russian Federation has ever recognized its responsibility for them under established international law. They have long been sent to the 'dustbin of history,'" he noted.
According to Sokolov, the Russian Federation has demanded that the plaintiff withdraw its claim by January 30. "If this does not happen, we will file a motion to dismiss the claim based on the U.S. law 'Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act,'" concluded the lawyer.
