Dutch court quashes $50 billion Yukos shareholders' award

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court has quashed a $50 billion award Russia had been ordered to pay the former majority shareholders of Yukos, a major victory for Moscow in the high-stakes dispute over the dismantling of what was once Russia's largest oil producer.

Wednesday's ruling by The Hague District Court overturned a July 2014 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which said that Moscow used tax claims to seize control of Yukos in 2003 and silence its CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an opponent of President Vladimir Putin who had begun to use his vast wealth to fund opposition parties challenging Putin's power.

The Dutch court said the Hague-based arbitration panel did not have jurisdiction to rule in the case.