Summary

1. This jurisdictional challenge is part of a long-running saga relating to the enforcement of a Swedish arbitration award dated 19 December 2013 in favour of the "Stati parties", the Second to Fifth Defendants, and against the Second Claimant, the Republic of Kazakhstan ("RoK").
2. Enforcement proceedings are afoot in several jurisdictions but have been discontinued in this jurisdiction. By an Order of the Court of First Instance in Brussels dated 25 May 2018, upholding in a reduced amount a "conservatory" attachment order granted by the Belgian court on 11 October 2017 (the "attachment order"), the Stati parties obtained "a conservatory garnishment on 'debts and matters related to the "savings fund'" held by the First Defendant ("BNYM(L)"), the First Defendant, for RoK, in the sum of US$ 530 million.
3. In these English proceedings RoK seeks a declaration that the debts or assets held by BNYM(L) and said to be subject to the attachment order are in fact held by BNYM(L) solely for the National Bank of Kazakhstan ("NBK"), the First Claimant. They therefore submit that the attachment order has no subject-matter, because there are no assets to attach. The Claimants contend that this question was referred to this court by the Belgian court.
4. The Stati parties now seek to set aside the order of this court dated 19 July 2018 which granted the Claimants permission to serve the Stati parties out of the jurisdiction.