The Russian arbitration Court of Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad region has published a decision related to an argument between the Russian space company Lavochkin Association and the French company Sodern, wich has been developing cutting-edge technology for the space.
Lavochkin Association is developing the space complex Spektr-UF which will carry out astrophysical researches in the ultraviolet and visible ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum.
In 2021, the companies signed a contract according to which Sodern would produce sensors for Spektr-UF. After that, Lavochkin Association made an advance payment of 340,000 euros to Sodern.
However, in 2022 and 2023 Lavochkin Association was sanctioned by the U.S. and EU, prohibiting all supplies from Soderne to Lavochkin Association.
Lavochkin Association has demanded the return of money. According to the Russian courts documents, after arguing over the order of the refund, Sodern applied to the court with a proposal to transfer funds by the Paris Bar Association prior to the lifting of sanctions imposed by the European Council. Apparently, Lavochkin Association did not agree with this idea and took the matter to court
Finally, the Arbitration Court of Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad region has decided to recover funds from Sodern for Lavochkin Association.
However, it is unclear how the French company will recover the funds without violating the sanctions.
