Cairn arbitration: Government confirms French court order against Indian assets

The government on Tuesday confirmed that a French court has ordered the freezing of certain Indian assets in Paris on a petition by Britain’s Cairn Energy, which is seeking to recover USD 1.72 billion from New Delhi after winning an arbitration against retro tax.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha said the government has filed an appeal against an international arbitration tribunal overturning levy of Rs 10,247 crore in back taxes on Cairn Energy.

“Yes sir, an order has been passed by a French Court freezing certain Indian government properties in the case pertaining to Cairn Energy,” he said.