Irish High Court grants sweeping anti-suit injunction

The Irish High Court has granted a sweeping anti-suit injunction restraining Russia’s state-owned State Transport Leasing Company (JSC) from continuing proceedings in Russia that sought to relitigate issues already determined by the Irish courts in the liquidation of GTLK Europe DAC and GTLK Europe Capital DAC. The ruling marks one of the most significant exercises of Ireland’s anti-suit jurisdiction in an international insolvency context, and firmly establishes Ireland’s authority to issue anti-suit relief to safeguard cross-border liquidations—an approach likely to resonate with UK practitioners navigating similar jurisdictional conflicts post-Brexit.

GTLK Europe, an aircraft-leasing arm of the Russian state group, was wound up in 2023. Its joint liquidators, Julian Moroney and Damien Murran of Teneo, obtained earlier orders declaring pledge agreements in favour of JSC void. JSC chose not to participate in those proceedings on the basis that the Russian courts had exclusive jurisdiction over the matter, but attempted to appeal when the High Court ruled that the pledge agreements were void. The Irish Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that JSC’s failure to appear was the product of a deliberate and tactical decision, and that the appeal was accordingly an abuse of process.

JSC then tried its luck in Russia, launching numerous proceedings including arbitral actions and an anti-suit injunction in the Yamal Court, seeking potential fines exceeding €850 million from the liquidators. In response, the liquidators sought an anti-suit injunction from the Irish High Court restraining JSC from progressing the Russian proceedings.

Justice Mulcahy granted the relief sought by the liquidators, finding that JSC (which had entered an unconditional appearance and sought to prove as a €2.3 billion creditor in the Irish liquidation) had submitted to Irish jurisdiction and was abusing process by continuing the Russian litigation.

Citing English authorities such as Masri v Consolidated Contractors and Stichting Shell Pensioenfonds v Krys, the Court held that Irish courts possess an inherent in personam power to protect the integrity of their insolvency processes and to prevent creditors from undermining winding-up proceedings by pursuing collateral actions abroad. The order granted restrains JSC from maintaining or enforcing the Russian proceedings, while stopping short of requiring their formal discontinuance.

The decision can be found HERE.