N1 | 15 December 2021
Croatia to pay €40m to US investment company to settle 20-year-old dispute
by Hina
The government on Wednesday okayed the out-of-court settlement between Croatia and the American Colgate McCallum investment management company, which will see Croatia pay 297 million kuna (€40m) to the company.
“In return, Colgate McCallum renounces its right to file lawsuits and arbitration proceedings against Croatia over the dispute dating back to 2000 when the Croatian Fund for Privatisation failed to fully implement its obligations in line with the agreement concerning the compensation for shares in the coupon privatisation,” state agency Hina said, without explaining details of the case.
The settlement also obliges Colgate McCallum “to invest back at least 100 million kuna (€13m) in Croatia over the next five years,” Hina said. The settlement was reached to avoid proceedings before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and also to avoid any lawsuit which the International Development Finance Corporation might have initiated.
“The assessment of of Croatia’s obligation is based on the Notice of Dispute forwarded to Croatia on 12 August 2020,” Hina said.