The 45% stays with the family: appeal court rejects bid to seize Petersburg Oil Terminal shares
An appeal court has upheld the rejection of the Prosecutor General's claim to turn over to the state the Vasilyev family's 45% stake in Petersburg Oil Terminal.
Case file
- Court
- Appeal court in the case on seizing PNT shares for the state
- At stake
- 45% of Petersburg Oil Terminal JSC; about 4.5 billion rubles in accrued dividends
- Status
- On November 12, 2026, the appeal court ruled against the Prosecutor General; the September 2026 first-instance refusal stands
An appeal court on Thursday rejected the Prosecutor General's Office's claim to seize 45% of Petersburg Oil Terminal JSC (PNT), Fontanka reported. The first-instance refusal issued in September stands. The Vasilyev family keeps its stake in the oil terminal in the port of St. Petersburg.
The Prosecutor General's Office filed the claim in August. It sought to have the 2022 transfer of the stake to Sergei Vasilyev declared unlawful. The shares had previously belonged to Mobalko, a Cypriot company, and prosecutors argued that the deal violated the law on foreign investment in strategic companies. Had the court agreed, the whole chain of later transactions would also have been void: the transfer of the shares to his wife and their return to him and the couple's two minor children.
The ruling returns more than the shares. The family can claim its part of the dividends — about 4.5 billion rubles out of 9.5 billion accrued over several years and so far out of its reach.
The hearing was held behind closed doors. The day before, PNT board chair Elena Vasilyeva published an open letter to Vladimir Putin. She noted that the Supreme Court had already found the transfer of the shares lawful and that no family member holds foreign citizenship.
The remaining 55% of the terminal was seized from its former owners earlier under a separate claim by the Prosecutor General's Office. It now belongs to Roskhim JSC.
It has not been reported whether the Prosecutor General's Office will file a cassation appeal. The ruling takes effect once published.
Sources
Most sources are in Russian.
- Fontanka: appeal court rejects Prosecutor General's bid to nationalize Petersburg Oil Terminal shares (Nov 12, 2026; in Russian)
- Interfax: Prosecutor General appeals refusal to nationalize private PNT stake (Oct 2026; in Russian)
- Interfax: court rejects claim against former and current private shareholders of Petersburg oil terminal (Sep 2026; in Russian)
- ABN: PNT shareholder Elena Vasilyeva writes open letter to Putin (Nov 11, 2026; in Russian)
Kurs Media editorial team. Corrections and statements from the parties: press@kursmedia.com. Read in Russian.
