Russia told to pay Yukos investors nearly €1.9bn

The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to pay out nearly €1.9bn to shareholders of Yukos, the oil producer that the government had dismantled over a decade ago.

The ruling said Russia must produce a plan to distribute the funds within six months. The court said a further €300,000 in costs and expenses is also to be paid out.

The decision follows one earlier this week by an international court ordering Russian president Vladimir Putin’s government to pay €50bn to the former majority shareholder in Yukos.

The ruling covers shareholders who were not party to that claim.

Yukos had been owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an opponent of Putin who had begun using his wealth to fund opposition parties. Khodorkovsky was arrested.