Foreign financiers complaining about
the legal wars they will launch to recover bad debts in Russia rarely mean much.
The expense of a lawsuit{{U}} (1) {{/U}}the satisfaction; the chances of
getting any money are{{U}} (2) {{/U}}. Yet Noga, a
company owned by Nessim Gaon, a 78-year-old businessman{{U}} (3)
{{/U}}in Geneva, has been suing the Russian government since 1993,
attempting to{{U}} (4) {{/U}}Russian assets abroad. At Mr. Gaon's
request, bailiffs last week very nearly{{U}} (5) {{/U}}two of Russia's
most advanced warplanes at the Paris air{{U}} (6) {{/U}}. The
organisers{{U}} (7) {{/U}}off the Russian authorities, and the planes
flew home, just{{U}} (8) {{/U}}time.{{U}} (9) {{/U}}near-misses
include a sail-training ship, the Sedov, nuclear-waste shipments, and the
president's plane. Mr. Gaon. whose previous business partners
include regimes in Nigeria and Sudan, put an{{U}} (10) {{/U}}clause in
his original export deals: Russia must abandon its sovereign immunity. An
arbitration court in Stockholm has found in his{{U}} (11) {{/U}}, so
far, to the{{U}} (12) {{/U}}of $110 million, out of a total{{U}}
(13) {{/U}}of $420 million. Other courts{{U}} (14) {{/U}}the
world have let him have a{{U}} (15) {{/U}}at any Russian assets{{U}}
(16) {{/U}}reach. The odd thing is{{U}} (17)
{{/U}}Russia. now awash with cash, does not simply pay up. Mr. Gaon says he
was told at one point that a 10%{{U}} (18) {{/U}}on the debt to someone
high up in the finance ministry would solve things.{{U}} (19) {{/U}}off
Mr. Gaon costs much in legal fees. Not accepting international judgments sits
ill with the current Kremlin line{{U}} (20) {{/U}}the rule of law. Mr.
Gaon says his next move will be to seize Russia's embassy in
Paris.