OREANDA-NEWS. July 03, 2012. The Court of Luxembourg ruled to dismiss an appeal by Nikolay Maximov that sought to freeze the shares of the Luxembourg-based Steel Invest and Finance (a part of NLMK Group).

 In June 2011, Mr. Maximov filed a lawsuit which sought to freeze the shares of Steel Invest and Finance S.A., a subsidiary of NLMK International B.V. Nikolay Maximov claimed that Steel Invest and Finance was the co-defendant in the ICAC (International Arbitration Commercial Court) decision of March 31, 2011 that was invalidated by the Moscow City Arbitration Court. The freezing of Steel Invest and Finance S.A. shares was reversed by the Luxembourg court on October 28, 2011 as unlawful.

For reference:
 The ICAC decision of March 31, 2011 in Maximov’s favour was overturned by the Moscow City Arbitration Court on June 28, 2011. On September 26, 2011 the Moscow District Federal Arbitration Court dismissed an appeal to challenge the decision of the Moscow City Arbitration Court. On January 30, 2012 the Supreme Commercial Court (SCC) of the Russian Federation passed a resolution dismissing Maximov’s motion to refer the case to the Presidium of SCC for review.
 Abroad, decisions on the dispute in favour of NLMK have already been made by the Court of Nicosia (Cyprus) (November 17, 2011), the Court of Amsterdam (December 19, 2011), and the Court of Hamburg (May 14, 2012). Proceedings continue in the Amsterdam court of appeal.

Steel Invest and Finance SA
 Steel Invest and Finance SA (SIF) comprises the production assets of NLMK’s ex-JV with Duferco Group located in Europe and the US. In July 2011 NLMK purchased a 50% interest in Steel Invest and Finance from Duferco Group. The transaction resulted in SIF becoming a 100% owned subsidiary of NLMK.