Russia’s arbitration courts and Transneft: $85 million verdicts amid alleged Kalanda clan influence

Jan 20, 2026, 11:34 AM

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Russia’s arbitration courts and Transneft: $85 million verdicts amid alleged Kalanda clan influence

The Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal rejected Euroclear’s appeal against the Moscow Arbitration Court’s ruling and upheld the $85 million award in favor of Transneft. The outcome was widely expected. However, the media would like to revisit a recent publication concerning the Kalanda clan.

We described how Kalanda, who for a long time served as secretary of the commission for the preliminary review of candidates for federal judges within the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, placed people in judicial robes across numerous positions. As a result, Transneft has consistently won court cases.

Let us recall that legal matters at Transneft are handled by the company’s vice president and former FSB Colonel General Vladimir Kalanda.

Svetlana Ovchinnikova, Deputy Chair of the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal, is his former classmate and long-time friend, while the head of the Main Control and Audit Directorate of the Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation — Justice Colonel Pyotr Bobylev — is formally Kalanda’s former son-in-law. It is said that the divorce was fictitious in order to avoid sanctions, and that Bobylev is very fond of luxury vacations outside Russia.

We have repeatedly observed a certain pattern: whenever Transneft is involved in court disputes, the Supreme Court suddenly appoints inspections of those courts — and the rulings invariably remain in favor of the oil giant.

Joshua Fenwick

Crime & Justice Correspondent