EGPC wins court decision in France, no longer required to pay NATGAS EGP 250 mn

ENTERPRISE EXCLUSIVE- The French Court of Cassation has issued a verdict reversing a decision that had required state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) to pay National Gas Company (NATGAS) EGP 250 mn in damages as part of a 2009 case. Deputy Justice Minister for Arbitration and International Disputes Moustafa El Bahabety led the team that defended EGPC, which successfully filed case number 16-13.729 to the French Court of Cassation. The case had been moved to France from Egypt after NATGAS filed an appeal to the Versailles Court of Appeals, which ruled in its favour and imposed a freeze on EGPC’s assets in France. This most recent reversal by the French Court of Cassation, won by El Bahabety’s team, means EGPC is no longer required to pay EGP 250 mn to NATGAS. The French Court of Cassation referred the case back to the lower Paris Court of Appeals, and ordered NATGAS to pay EUR 3k in legal fees.