Smurfit awarded $469 mln against Venezuela by arbitration tribunal
Recasts lead, adds context, company reaction
Aug 29 (Reuters) - Global paper producer Smurfit Westrock SWR.L has been awarded a $469 million arbitration ruling against Venezuela by the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the company and the tribunal said.
The decision grants the Dublin-based company compensation for the 2018 seizure of its assets in Venezuela in excess of $468.7 million, legal costs of $4.5 million and interest until the date of payment, Smurfit said in a release on Thursday.
"We will now pursue the full value of this award from the Venezuelan government," Smurfit Westrock CEO Tony Smurfit said in a statement.
Smurfit's spokespeople did not immediately reply to a request for further information. Venezuela's Foreign Affairs ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Venezuela has lost numerous international arbitration cases following late President Hugo Chavez's nationalization wave. The South American country is facing $21 billion in claims for past expropriations and debt defaults in a U.S. court case now underway .
Smurfit's investments in Venezuela were protected by a treaty between the Netherlands and Venezuela.
"The tribunal dismissed Venezuela's objections to its jurisdiction, and held that Venezuela breached the treaty's protection against unlawful expropriation, the treaty's protection against unfair and inequitable treatment and arbitrary and discriminatory measures, and the treaty obligation to guarantee the repatriation of dividends without undue restriction or delay," the company added.
The ICSID rendered its decision on Wednesday, according to its webpage. The case was first introduced in 2018, and the tribunal was constituted in 2019 to discuss the case.
In July 2024, WestRock and Smurfit Kappa merged to become Smurfit Westrock, a global producer of sustainable packaging. Smurfit Westrock operates in 40 countries.
(By Marianna Parraga in Houston and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas)
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