Telangana High Court Restrains RUSAL-Linked Firm From Transferring Pioneer Aluminium Shares In ₹2840 Crore Arbitral Award Enforcement

The Telangana High Court has recently restrained AL Plus Holding LLC, a subsidiary of award-debtor United Company RUSAL International PJSC, from transferring its 26% shareholding in Pioneer Aluminium Industries Limited while hearing enforcement proceedings of foreign arbitral awards worth about Rs 2,840 crore obtained by OWH SE i.L.

A single bench of Justice T. Madhavi Devi directed that “this Court is inclined to direct the respondent No.2 not to transfer its shares in Pioneer Aluminum Industries Limited to the extent of 26% of total shares of the said company as stated by the petitioner in his affidavit till the next date of hearing.”

The court observed that the direction was required “in order to see that the award is not defeated by any attempts to divert the funds by the arbitral award debtor.”

The execution petition states that the dispute arises out of arbitration proceedings between OWH SE i.L., a German financial institution, and United Company RUSAL International PJSC before a three-member arbitral tribunal seated in London comprising Jonathan Nash KC (Presiding Arbitrator), Dame Elizabeth Gloster DBE, and Andrew Lenon KC.

According to the petition, under an award dated September 24, 2024, the tribunal directed payment of €213,770,150.26, and by a subsequent award dated 29 August 2025, granted additional interest of €33,835,208.30, along with costs and further interest, taking the total amount sought to be enforced in India to about Rs 2,840 crore.

The petitioner approached the High Court under Sections 47 and 49 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, seeking recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral awards as if they were decrees of the court.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that enforcement proceedings had already been initiated in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Jersey, England and Wales, Cyprus, Kazakhstan and Qatar, but only a small portion of the awarded amount had been recovered.

It was further submitted that United Company RUSAL International PJSC, the award debtor, holds 100% shareholding in International Limited Liability Company Gershvin / MK Gershvin LLC (respondent No.3), which in turn owns AL Plus Holding LLC (respondent No.2), and that these entities together hold about 26% shares in Pioneer Aluminium Industries Limited, a company having its head office in Hyderabad and assets in Andhra Pradesh.

Taking note of these submissions and the pending enforcement proceedings, the Court passed an interim direction restraining AL Plus Holding LLC (respondent No.2) from transferring its shares to the extent of 26% of the shareholding in Pioneer Aluminium Industries Limited until the next date of hearing.

The matter has been posted for further hearing on April 7, 2026.

For OWH SE i.L.: Senior Advocate Vivek Reddy with Advocates V. V. Sivakumar, Akash Nath, Lisha T., Sayanti Chatterjee and Sriram Reddy, instructed by Dua Associates.