AGA Partners is pleased to announce a successful outcome in a case before the Commercial Court of Sumy Region, where we represented the Swiss branch of a major Chinese agribusiness corporation. The case was part of broader proceedings to recognize and enforce a London-seated arbitration award in Ukraine against a Ukrainian debtor previously reported here.

As part of the enforcement process, the debtor's bank accounts were lawfully seized by a private enforcement officer. However, a third party filed a claim against both the private enforcement officer and the debtor, seeking to lift the seizure and recover funds it had allegedly transferred by mistake.

Our Client joined the case as an interested party, emphasizing the risk that the claim was a coordinated attempt to shield the debtor’s assets and circumvent the enforcement of the arbitration award.

The Court partially satisfied the claim, finding that the disputed funds had been transferred to the debtor without a legal basis - but crucially, this did not invalidate the enforcement measures already in place. The Court further held that the third party’s rights could still be protected through separate legal remedies, and the claimant did not hold priority over other creditors.

As a result, the seizure remained intact, and our Client’s right to enforcement was preserved.

The case was handled by Partner Iryna Moroz, Senior Associate Dmytro Izotov, and Associate Maksym Fesenko.