Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has been appointed by Russia to represent it in an international arbitration involving Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank, according to a Global Arbitration Review report cited by Bar and Bench.
The dispute relates to losses claimed by the Ukrainian bank following Russia’s military operations in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
What is the dispute about?
Oschadbank has initiated arbitration over assets and business operations it says it lost in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The bank claims that military actions and the subsequent occupation of parts of these regions resulted in the loss of banking assets and investments, forcing it to suspend operations there.
The arbitration is being conducted under the 1998 bilateral investment treaty between Russia and Ukraine. The bank's claim is understood to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Oschadbank reportedly served Russia with a notice of dispute in July 2025 before initiating the arbitration after it allegedly did not receive a response.
Chandrachud joins three-member tribunal
The arbitration tribunal will have three members. Costa Rican arbitrator and former trade minister Dyala Jimenez will serve as the president after being jointly selected by Russia and Oschadbank.
Oschadbank selected Greek arbitrator and National University of Singapore professor Stavros Brekoulakis. Chandrachud has been appointed by Russia as its nominee.
The former CJI's appointment comes after he had reportedly declined earlier approaches from Russia to act as an arbitrator in treaty disputes involving Wintershall Dea and Ukrenergo.
Chandrachud had previously been designated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration as the appointing authority in the Wintershall proceedings. He later relinquished that role after disclosing the communications regarding the approaches.
Separate from Crimea arbitration
The latest case is separate from Oschadbank's earlier arbitration against Russia over the expropriation of its assets and branch in Crimea following Russia's 2014 annexation of the peninsula.
In that case, an arbitration tribunal awarded Oschadbank around $1.1 billion, with the amount later increased with interest.
The bank has said it is documenting losses incurred since 2022 as part of its efforts to seek recovery through the new claim.