Arbitration
Kanametova v OSG Records Management (Europe) Ltd [2026] EWHC 1196 (Comm)
The King’s Bench Division dismissed the claimant’s challenge under s 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 against the arbitral tribunal’s award that it lacked jurisdiction to determine the dispute. The claimant, Zalina Kanametova, former general director of OSG Records Management Centre LLC (OSG Russia), sought to enforce a long-term incentive agreement (LTI agreement) dated 1 October 2015 against OSG Records Management (Europe) Limited (OSG), claiming approximately USD$1.3m. The LTI agreement purportedly provided for a bonus calculated by reference to OSG’s equity value, payable upon sale by Elbrus Capital Funds of its shareholdings. OSG challenged the tribunal’s jurisdiction, alleging the LTI agreement was fraudulently backdated and executed between February and May 2020, not October 2015 as claimed. Following a three-day arbitration hearing, the tribunal found the agreement was signed in 2020 and backdated. The claimant challenged this award, bearing the burden of proving the LTI agreement’s validity on the balance of probabilities. The court conducted a complete rehearing and found, among other things, that contemporaneous documentation contradicted the claimant’s account;
