Yet another international tribunal, this time in Switzerland, has ruled that Croatia targeted MOL's Chairman-CEO with false allegations
An international arbitration tribunal seated in Switzerland has unanimously determined that Croatia failed to prove that MOL Plc.’s Chairman-CEO engaged in bribery. This is the third international forum to reject Croatia’s bribery allegations, which have also twice been rejected by the Swiss Supreme Court and separately by INTERPOL. Central to the tribunal’s decision was its deep skepticism of the truthfulness and reliability of Croatia’s key witness, Robert Jezic. The tribunal reached its decision despite Croatia’s courts finding Mr. Zsolt Hernádi and former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader guilty of corruption largely based on Jezic’s testimony. The tribunal’s implicit rejection of the Croatian verdicts fully vindicates MOL’s position concerning the fabricated bribery allegations.
In the same decision, the tribunal rejected MOL’s compensation claim, creating a precedent that sends a serious message to future foreign investors. MOL’s compensation claim arose out of Croatia’s breach of the First Amendment to the Gas Master Agreement (FAGMA), which had been approved by the Kosor government to remedy Croatia’s previous breach of the 2009 Gas Master Agreement (GMA). MOL relied on the government’s official approval to continue investing in the country. The tribunal, however, determined that the FAGMA’s royalty provision was contrary to mandatory Croatian law, despite the fact that the agreement had been fully vetted and approved by the Croatian state at the time.
As a responsible and law-abiding international company, MOL will, of course, fully comply with all its obligations arising from the decision in accordance with the law.