Dutch court lifts freeze on $22B assets of Kazakh National Fund

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - On January 23, Amsterdam District Court has lifted a freeze on $22 billion in assets held by the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan at Bank of New York Mellon, Kazinform has learnt from the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan.

Bank of New York Mellon acts as the custodian of the fund's assets.

The Ministry said in a statement that the court had agreed with the National Bank and the Justice Ministry's side of the story and ruled the assets should not have been frozen.

The court had already upheld the decision to freeze $5.2 billion assets based on another lawsuit filed by Moldovan businessman Anatolie Stati.

The court also ruled Stati should pay Kazakhstan's legal fees.

The Ministry also claimed that it is seeking the reversal of a ruling of the Belgian court on the freeze of some Kazakh assets.