July 6 (SeeNews) - Croatia has lost an arbitration case initiated by Hungarian oil and gas company MOL at the International Court for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over Croatia's failure to fulfil its obligations under a master agreement on gas business, local media reported on Wednesday.
Now, Croatia would have to pay between $250 million (244 million euro) and $300 million, the Vecernji List daily reported, citing unofficial exclusive information confirmed by several unnamed sources.
The sum is lower than the $1 billion compensation that MOL initially sought, the daily added.
MOL is the largest shareholder in Croatian oil and gas company INA with a 49.08% stake, followed by the Croatian government with 44.84%.
MOL filed for arbitration against the Croatian government with the Washington-based ICSID in December 2013, claiming that Croatia had breached its obligations to take over INA’s loss-making gas business or apply market prices for gas, which it had agreed to do back in 2009.
Croatia's allegations of corruption during the privatisation of INA by MOL were rejected as well, Vecernji List said.
($=0.974 euro)
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