05 January 2021
18:36
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A legal dispute between an Italian businessman and the Republic of Albania has just resulted in seizures made on royalties owed by Eurocontrol to Albania.
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To understand what it is, we must go back to 2013, the year of the election of‘Edi Rama in place of Prime Minister in Albania. After coming to power, he canceled two concessions awarded to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti to build a hydroelectric power station and a recycling plant. In the process, an investigation for tax evasion is launched against the Italian businessman and the Albanian Republic ends up freeze all his assets in Albania. This decision will lead, among other things, to the dismissal of 500 people employed by the Aegon Channel television channel, owned by Francesco Becchetti.
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Contested arbitration
Believing himself in his right, the Italian businessman, defended by Hakim Boularbah and Olivier van der Haegen (Loyens & Loeff), then turned to the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) which, through a arbitrage of April 24, 2019, agreed with him and awarded compensation of 107 million euros. From the beginning, the Republic of Albania contests the arbitration award and refuses to pay what she owes to the businessman.
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It is in this specific context that seizures were made to various bodies not subject to jurisdictional immunity. In Belgium, Francesco Becchetti, on the basis of a unilateral request, obtained the green light from the garnishee judge of the court of first instance for make seizures with Eurocontrol. Albania is one of the 41 members of this European body responsible, among other things, for collecting fees paid by airlines for flights over different territories. These fees are then redistributed to the States overflown according to a distribution key managed by Eurocontrol. And it is precisely the royalties owed by Eurocontrol to the Albanian Republic that were seized.
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As this seizure was made in December 2020, the amounts blocked to date are not very high. Last I heard, it is aboutjust over 170,000 euros. The low level of these amounts is explained in particular by the health crisis which has nailed most of the planes to the ground. But, as Hakim Boularbah reminded us, in another arbitration proceeding condemning the Romanian state to compensate the Micula brothers, seizures made at Eurocontrol had made it possible to freeze 11 million euros. Knowing that foreclosures are applicable to future royalties, if thefts resume a little more normal course, the seizures could quickly become more important.
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Albania’s opposition
The Albanian Republic, defended by Jean-Francois Goffin and Jean-Luc Hagon (CMS) announced his intention to oppose this seizure. The issue of jurisdictional immunity will be at the heart of the debates. Albania’s lawyers believe that royalties paid by Eurocontrol to its Albanian counterpart (Albcontrol) are subject to this immunity and therefore cannot be entered. Francesco Beccheti’s lawyers do not share this reading and believe that these royalties are used to finance commercial services and can therefore be seized. This case will be brought before the foreclosure judge on Thursday.
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