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Omni Bridgeway asks Washington Federal Court to seize Albania's assets
2025-08-22 18:47:41 / AKTUALITET
After Becchetti’s 130 million euros, Albania faces another major confiscation risk. Litigation financier Omni Bridgeway is asking a federal court in Washington to allow it to seize assets belonging to Albania as it seeks to enforce an arbitration award worth about $13 million that the Albanian government has ignored for years in a nearly decade-long dispute stemming from taxes on oil concessions.
The conflict in question involves the Albanian government and the company GBC Oil Co.Ltd, a company registered in the Cayman Islands with Albanian owners, Naim Kasa, Kreshnik Greza and American Mark Crawford, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce.
GBC, which is now represented by Omni, won a $13 million arbitration award against Albania in 2020 from the ICC arbitration court in Switzerland. The award against Albania was reaffirmed in February of this year by the Federal Court in Washington.
Washington Court's decision on the recognition of the fine against Albania
"It has been more than six months since U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan confirmed the decision in a default judgment and more than 3.5 months since this decision was formally served on Albania," Omni Bridgeway argued in a brief statement to the court.
The financier says that despite taking all necessary steps to notify Albania of the decision, it has yet to receive a response from the Albanian Ministry of Justice. "This means it is time for the court to allow us to begin seizing Albania's assets," Omni Bridgeway argued.
"The respondents (the Albanian government) have not complied with any part of the judgment; they have not taken any steps towards compliance with the judgment; and they have not made any statement regarding any plan to comply with the judgment," Omni's letter to the Court states.
"Neither has the Republic of Albania adopted or proposed any legislation to facilitate payment of the judgment. The complete non-appearance of the defendants in these proceedings confirms that Albania has no plans to voluntarily comply with the judgment, either now or in the future."
The history of the conflict between the Albanian state and the GBC Oil company begins in 2007, when the Albanian government granted a company called Stream Oil and Gas the license to exploit 4 oil fields.
It was about the Gorisht-Kocul, Cakran-Mollaj, Ballsh-Hekal and Delvinë oil fields. Stream Oil was also a company registered in the Cayman Islands, but behind which stood Arian Tartari, a businessman close to the former Democratic Party government.
In 2008, the Albanian government decided to increase the mining royalties paid by oil companies to 10 percent. Stream Oil claimed compensation, but the government refused. As a result, the company began to accumulate unpaid debts to the state, which amounted to $27 million.
With the change of power in 2014, Stream Oil was sold to American businessman Mitchell Malone, who owns the company TransAtlantic Petroleum. After buying it, the latter realized that the company had other debts to suppliers in Albania, in addition to those to taxes.
Malone held the TransAtlantic Albania company for two years and sold it to the GBC Oil company of Naim Kasa, Kreshnik Greza and Mark Crawford. The latter was the man who negotiated the sale transaction.
In 2017, Albpetrol decided to renationalize the oil fields, which were now under the ownership of GBC Oil, arguing that the company had not fulfilled its obligations under the concession agreement and had millions of dollars in unpaid debts to the state.
After the nationalization, GBC Oil turned to the International Court of Arbitration in Zurich, seeking $110 million in compensation from the Albanian government. In July 2020, the Court rejected most of GBC Oil's claims, but fined Albania $12.7 million, which the government had to pay to GBC Oil as compensation to offset the tax increase following the concession agreement.
Initially the government reported the case as won, but news of the fine was revealed 4 years ago when GBC Oil contracted the Australian company Omni Bridgeay for the enforcement procedures.
In July 2023, Omni Bridge filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Washington seeking recognition of the decision by the US Court. In February of this year, the Washington Court ruled in favor of the company, recognizing the arbitration award for the fine.
Now, 6 months later, Omni is asking the court for authorization to confiscate Albania's sovereign assets, just as it did with Albcontrol's money, seized by Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti.
The case is Omni Bridgeway Limited v. Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy of the Republic of Albania, etc. The case number is 1:23-cv-01938, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia./ Capital
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