Republic of Kazakhstan v Anatolie Stati et al - United States District Court, District of Columbia - Civil Action No 17-2067 (ABJ) - Memorandum Opinion - 30 March 2019
Country
Year
2019
Summary
MEMORANDUM OPINION
AMY BERMAN JACKSON, District Judge.
Plaintiff, the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Kazakhstan"), brought this civil suit against the defendants — Anatolie Stati, Gabriel Stati, and the two companies they own, Ascom Group, S.A. and Terra Raf Trans Traiding Ltd. (the "Stati Parties") — for alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., and the common law torts of fraud and civil conspiracy. Compl. ¶ 1 [Dkt. # 1]. Kazakhstan claims that defendants obtained an arbitral award from the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ("SCC") in Sweden through fraud, and that defendants' subsequent efforts to use legal process to enforce and collect on that arbitral award have been unlawful. Id. ¶¶ 6, 8. Kazakhstan filed this lawsuit while an action to enforce the arbitral award was already pending in this Court, and it seeks damages, attorneys' fees, and an injunction preventing defendants from enforcing the foreign arbitral award in the United States. Id., "Prayer for Relief," at 92-93.
The Stati Parties moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Plaintiff opposed the motion, and the matter is ripe for decision. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant defendants' motion and dismiss the ill-advised lawsuit. A RICO civil suit is not a vehicle to challenge non-frivolous litigation, or in this case, a valid and final foreign arbitral award.