GAR: US Supreme Court confirms availability of RICO to foreign award creditors

Eversheds Sutherland Partner John Lomas is quoted in this GAR article discussing the US Supreme Court's decision that a Russian businessman can use the country’s anti-racketeering law, RICO, to enforce an LCIA award – creating a new avenue for foreign arbitral creditors targeting US assets.

John told GAR, “US law and policy has long been pro-arbitration, including with respect to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.”

“Given the availability of treble damages in civil RICO cases, the court’s decision in Yegiazaryan provides non-US parties seeking to enforce foreign arbitral awards in the US a potentially powerful tool to use against award debtors that hide assets and otherwise actively evade collection,” he said.

He added that the decision also potentially “exposes to substantial liability those – such as lawyers and other advisors, business partners, family, and financial institutions – who work with and facilitate an award debtor in hiding or shielding assets from enforcement.”