Cairn Energy, a Scottish energy company, said on Thursday that it had “freezeIn its latest effort to recover $1.7 billion in real estate owned and located in Paris, India, which it believes is owed to New Delhi.
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Last year, an international arbitration tribunal ruled that India should pay Cairn Energy $1.2 billion in a complicated tax dispute. Cairn claims it also owes $500 million in interest. India appealed the decision. “Our strong priority is to have an amicable agreement with the Government of India to close this matter, and for this, we have submitted a detailed set of proposals since February this year.Cairn said in a statement accessed to AFP. “However, in the absence of such an agreement, Cairn will have to take all necessary legal steps to protect its interests.Company added.
20 properties over 20 million euros
A Cairn spokesperson told AFP that the company “Successfully obtained from a French court to freeze residential real estate owned by the Indian government in central ParisAccording to the Financial Times, the company said the freeze affected 20 properties located in the French capital and was worth more than 20 million euros ($24 million). Indian officials living at Cairn properties reported Indian media. The Ministry of Finance of India said that it has “No notice, order or communication has been received in this regard from the French Court».
«The government is working to establish the facts and as soon as it gets such a verdict, it will take appropriate legal action.“, he added. Earlier this year, Cairn Energy also targeted several Air India properties in Manhattan, taking legal action in New York after the airline recognized that it “judicial discriminationfrom the Government of India.
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According to press reports, the company says it has identified $70 billion in Indian state-owned foreign assets that could potentially be confiscated. “There have been constructive discussions (with Cairn) and the government stands ready for an amicable settlement of the dispute within the legal framework of the country.», underlined the Indian Ministry of Finance. The country is involved in several other similar controversies that, according to some observers, have reduced its attractiveness to foreign investors.
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