Afiper Press release if February 5, 2026

AFIPER notes with satisfaction the summons issued by the Noble Capital fund against the Russian state before the District Court of Columbia in the United States on June 9, 2025 (see text here).

This procedure, which consists of demanding that the Russian State repay loans issued by it on US territory in 1916, is in line with our actions based on State succession and the non-prescriptibility of sovereign debts.

It also highlights the possibility of using assets held by the Russian State to carry out compensation operations, in particular from frozen Russian assets.

However, we must point out an error in Noble's summons, as it states that the action they are taking is the only one of its kind and that French bondholders have been reimbursed.

However, although French bondholders were compensated in 2000 following the Franco-Russian agreements of 1996, they retain their full value, as confirmed three times in a row by the Council of State and the Court of Cassation, which ruled that agreements negotiated between states cannot have any impact on private interests.

Although AFIPER's actions against the Russian state in France have so far been dismissed, this is solely on the basis of that country's diplomatic immunity, but this in no way calls into question the value or validity of the securities in question.                                                  

This is why we are continuing our efforts, in particular with the aim of obtaining compensation for our Russian securities from Russian debtors.