Former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has been appointed by Russia to an international arbitration tribunal. This tribunal will hear a dispute initiated by Ukrainian state-owned bank Oschadbank concerning significant asset and business losses in four Ukrainian regions.
The case, which is understood to involve claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars, stems from Oschadbank's assertion that it lost substantial assets and its ability to operate in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The dispute is being heard under the 1998 bilateral investment treaty between Russia and Ukraine.
The three-member tribunal will be led by Costa Rican arbitrator and former trade minister Dyala Jimenez, who was jointly selected by both Russia and Oschadbank. Oschadbank appointed Greek arbitrator and National University of Singapore professor Stavros Brekoulakis as its representative, while Russia formally appointed Justice Chandrachud.
Oschadbank initiated the arbitration proceedings after Russia reportedly failed to respond to a notice of dispute served by the bank in July 2025. This current case is distinct from an earlier arbitration where Oschadbank was awarded approximately $1.1 billion (plus interest) against Russia over the expropriation of its assets and Crimean branch after the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Justice Chandrachud's appointment follows earlier reports that he had declined previous approaches from Russia to serve as an arbitrator in other treaty disputes, including cases involving the gas and oil production company Wintershall Dea and the state-owned power transmission firm Ukrenergo. He reportedly gave up a separate appointing authority role after disclosing those communications.