An analytical report on Pravo.ru, focusing on easing asset unblocking and the ban on enforcement of judgments, suggests that lawyers expect the use of these mechanisms to be targeted rather than widespread. In international arbitration, practice under the Lugovoy Law continues to develop; now, bans are issued not only on initiating new disputes but also on enforcing judgments abroad.

Despite this, the Zamoksvoretsky District Court of Moscow supported arbitration in LCIA and granted a request for interim measures (case No. 13-1256/2025). Proceedings in London began in 2024. Ilya Smirnov then filed a claim against Viktor Mangazeev, founder of the international fintech project Tiger Trade. According to the claimant, he developed software for the platform but never received payment. After the arbitration began in LCIA, the defendant started withdrawing assets from Russia and liquidated several companies. The claimant believes this jeopardizes the future enforcement of the arbitral award. Considering this, the Moscow court arrested Mangazeev’s apartment and prohibited any registration actions with it.

Specifically, KKMP Partner Stanislav Dobshevich comments:

“On the one hand, there’s nothing unusual about this decision; the possibility of issuing an interim measures order in support of arbitration is directly provided for in Article 139 of the CPC and Article 90 of the APC. On the other hand, lawyers have become accustomed over the past three years to Russian courts being extremely cautious about all foreign arbitral institutions, particularly Western ones.

 

The position of the Zamoksvoretsky District Court, which granted interim measures in support of LCIA, should be commended. Even considering potential obstacles to access to justice in LCIA, appealing to this arbitration center remains a right of a Russian person, and Russian courts should only assist them, for example, by taking interim measures to support foreign arbitration.”

Furthermore, this is not an isolated case since 2022. In 2023, the Arbitration Court of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District granted interim measures in support of Yamal LNG’s claim against Baker Hughes Rus Infra in arbitration with ICC (case No. A81-7665/2023). In another case, the Murmansk Regional Court granted interim measures in a petition from Trust Bank, which initiated proceedings in Russia to recognize and enforce an LCIA award. The defendant argued that enforcing the London arbitration award was contrary to Russian public order, but the courts nevertheless supported the bank's request and arrested the property of entrepreneur Evgeny Novitsky (case No. 66-208/2025).