The American investment fund Noble Capital RSD has asked Moscow to pay 225 billion dollars for the debt obligations of the Russian Empire. The lawsuit against the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Russia, and the National Welfare Fund was filed in the US Federal Court in the District of Columbia, reports the publication The Moscow Times, referring to RBC.
“The Russian Federation, violating the doctrine of the continuity of state power, has refused and continues to refuse to fulfill certain obligations regarding public debt, contracted by its predecessor – the Russian Empire”, is mentioned in the lawsuit.
Noble Capital RSD claims to be the legal holder of bonds of the Russian Empire worth 25 million dollars, with an interest rate of 5.5%, issued in 1916. According to the plaintiff, Russia, as the successor of the USSR, inherited these debts. The final amount of compensation is to be determined during the trial.
The amount requested by the fund – 17.5 trillion rubles at the current rate – represents 43% of Russia’s annual budget (40.2 trillion rubles) and exceeds the combined value of Sberbank, Gazprom, and Rosneft (6.5 trillion, 2.9 trillion, and respectively 4.2 trillion rubles). The fund proposes that the debt be paid from Russian assets frozen after the years 2014 and 2022.