Albania is once again facing an international court ruling that puts its assets abroad at risk. A federal court in Washington has granted Omni Bridgeway, a litigation financier, the right to seize Albanian assets as a result of the non-implementation of an arbitration award in favor of GBC Oil, worth about $13 million.
This case follows the well-known Francesco Becchetti precedent, where Albania lost and was forced to pay 130 million euros. The current conflict is related to taxes on oil concessions and ownership of oil fields that were initially awarded to Stream Oil and then transferred to GBC Oil. In 2017, Albpetrol returned the oil fields, claiming that GBC Oil had not fulfilled its obligations and had large debts to the state.
GBC Oil appealed to the International Court of Arbitration in Switzerland and won compensation of $12.7 million in 2020. However, Albania has not taken any measures to enforce the decision, allowing Omni Bridgeway to seek confiscation of assets abroad, using the precedents of previous cases such as Albcontrol and Becchett.
