VSMPO-AVISMA Wins Swiss Court Battle, Halting Asset Seizure Bid

ZUG, SWITZERLAND and NEW YORK – March 13, 2026 – In a significant legal victory for Russian titanium producer VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, a Swiss appellate court has decisively rejected an appeal by Interlink Metals and Chemicals AG, upholding a lower court's decision to invalidate a multi-million dollar asset attachment. The ruling not only frees VSMPO-AVISMA's assets but also orders Interlink to cover all legal costs, marking a critical turn in the protracted and acrimonious dispute between the two commodity giants.

The decision, handed down today, affirms a previous ruling that found Interlink's attempt to freeze assets connected to VSMPO-AVISMA lacked a sufficient legal foundation under Swiss law. This outcome reinforces VSMPO-AVISMA's position and deals a substantial blow to Interlink's legal strategy.

The Court's Decisive Ruling

The legal battle stems from a sequestration action initiated by Interlink in a Swiss court in December 2024. The action sought to attach, or freeze, assets allegedly linked to VSMPO-AVISMA as security for damages Interlink claimed it was owed. However, a lower court swiftly invalidated the attachment, a decision that has now been cemented by the appellate court.

According to the court's findings, Interlink failed to meet the high legal bar required for such a drastic measure. The initial ruling concluded that Interlink had not demonstrated a legally sufficient basis for its claim and, crucially, that there was "no causal link" between the damages it sought and the contract breaches it alleged. The appellate court concurred with this assessment, specifically noting that Interlink's damages claim was improper under the strictures of Swiss law.

As a result of the failed appeal, Interlink has been ordered to bear the full costs of the appellate proceedings, which includes court fees and the legal expenses incurred by VSMPO-AVISMA.

"This decision confirms what we have said from the outset," stated Jay Auslander, Counsel for VSMPO-AVISMA, in a press release. "The attachment obtained by Interlink lacked a proper legal foundation as well as any factual link between the damages it seeks and the breaches it alleges. The appellate court's ruling reinforces that Interlink failed to establish even a plausible claim to justify the extraordinary and utterly unjustifiable remedy it sought at VSMPO-AVISMA's expense."

A Deep-Rooted and Bitter Dispute

This court case is not an isolated incident but rather a single chapter in a long and complex history of disputes involving Interlink and its principal, Igor Raykhelson. The relationship between the two companies appears to have soured significantly from a prior commercial partnership into a series of international legal confrontations.

While the specifics of Interlink's claim in this case centered on an alleged violation of a settlement agreement, VSMPO-AVISMA has its own counter-allegations. The Russian firm has publicly claimed that Interlink owes it more than €4 million for goods delivered in good faith, accusing the Swiss trader of evading contractual obligations despite Swiss judicial authorities twice confirming Interlink's debt.

The animosity is further underscored by a 2020 criminal case in Russia against a former VSMPO-AVISMA CEO, Mikhail Voevodin. That case involved allegations of financial losses stemming from transactions between 2017 and 2019, where the company allegedly sold ferrotitanium to Interlink at undervalued prices, only to repurchase finished products made from it at inflated costs. This tangled history suggests the current legal fight is fueled by years of commercial friction and mutual accusations of misconduct.

The High Bar of Swiss Law

The Swiss court's ruling highlights the robust legal framework governing asset attachments in the country, which serves as a major hub for international commerce and finance. Under Swiss law, an asset attachment, or sequestration, is an emergency, precautionary measure. It is granted ex parte, meaning the debtor is not heard before their assets are frozen, making it a powerful tool for creditors.

However, to prevent its abuse, courts require the creditor to provide "prima facie evidence" of a credible and unsecured claim. The creditor must also demonstrate a "sufficient connection" to Switzerland if the debtor is foreign-based. The court's decision in favor of VSMPO-AVISMA indicates that Interlink's evidence failed to meet this critical threshold. The finding that the damages claim was "improper" and lacked a "causal link" suggests the court saw the legal basis for the seizure as speculative or insufficiently substantiated.

This outcome serves as a reminder that Swiss courts demand a clear and justifiable foundation before granting such extraordinary remedies, reinforcing the country's reputation as a jurisdiction with strong due process protections for asset holders.

Geopolitical Tensions and Shifting Supply Chains

The legal drama is playing out against a backdrop of intense geopolitical pressure and a fundamental reshaping of the global titanium market. VSMPO-AVISMA, as a world-leading producer of titanium and a company at least 25% owned by the sanctioned Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec, sits at the center of this storm.

Since 2022, Western aerospace and defense giants like Boeing and Airbus have been actively working to reduce their historical dependence on Russian titanium. While the material was initially spared from direct sanctions due to its critical role in aircraft manufacturing, the commercial and political winds have shifted. In a direct challenge to Russia's market dominance, Interlink itself is developing a major titanium production facility in Bahrain, a project explicitly aimed at diversifying supply chains for European and other international customers.

VSMPO-AVISMA has felt the impact. The United States Commerce Department placed export controls on the company in September 2025, restricting goods flowing to its Russian facilities, though not its titanium exports from them. This complex legal and commercial environment has forced the Russian producer to adapt, with a larger portion of its output now reportedly serving domestic demand.

For VSMPO-AVISMA, this legal victory in a neutral Swiss court provides a crucial validation of its position and protects its operational assets from being entangled in the dispute. However, it is a single battle won in a much larger war for market position, as the company navigates ongoing legal challenges and the profound geopolitical shifts that are redrawing the map of global strategic industries.