ETERNA LAW’s position regarding publication in Global Arbitration Review

5 December 2022

Press release

On 2 December 2022, Global Arbitration Review published the article “Ukrainian lawyers charged with fraud in Switzerland”. In this article, Eterna Law was exposed to baseless accusations made by Mr Stadnyk and his associates. Eterna Law provided its comments refuting the accusations to Global Arbitration Review which have not been completely reproduced in the text of the article. The respective comments are set out in the below.

The Swiss criminal proceedings instigated by Mr Stadnyk are no more than an attempt to thwart and delay the enforcement of the contractually agreed legal fees of the firm for representing Mr Stadnyk and his affiliates in a complex high-level international arbitration case. Eterna Law team have been acting for Mr Stadnyk and his affiliates in the arbitration case consideration of which  took around 6 years until the final  award on the merits. The representation of Mr Stadnyk was based on a legal services agreement which he now claims to have been forged. At no point of time throughout the duration of arbitration proceedings has Mr Stadnyk ever disputed the validity of the agreement. To this date Mr Stadnyk never claimed that the representation took place under  any  other  legal services agreement.

Shortly after the final award on the merits was made which secured a significant win for Mr Stadnyk the firm received letters terminating its mandate. The firm took requisite steps to enforce the terms of the legal services agreement, which resulted in an arbitration award requiring Mr Stadnyk and his affiliates to pay the contractually agreed amounts. The arbitration award has been given recognition and allowed enforcement by the Swiss courts, including the Ticino Court of Appeal on 7th January 2021 and the Swiss Federal Tribunal (Supreme Court) on 17th June 2021). The Swiss courts have already dealt with the allegations forming the basis of the criminal investigation and dismissed them in their entirety. The authenticity of Mr Stadnyk’s signature on the agreement has been confirmed by the experts of Nationaal Forensisch Onderzoeksbureau B.V., a leading Dutch forensic expert institution. On the part of AL Law, the agreement was executed in full conformity with its internal procedures. The Swiss courts have dismissed all allegations of Mr Stadnyk to the contrary.

This is not the first instance of Mr Stadnyk’s attempts to avoid payment of the contractually agreed legal fees. Alongside with these criminal proceedings Mr Stadnyk filed numerous other applications to law enforcement authorities in different jurisdictions raising spurious allegations against Eterna Law and its employees. These included such extravagant accusations as crimes of undermining the sovereignty of the Swiss Confederation.

It is correct that the criminal investigation of Mr Stadnyk’s application was dismissed by the law enforcement authorities at first instance as unmeritorious. The criminal proceedings have then been dormant for several years until the Swiss Federal Tribunal made its final ruling dismissing Mr Stadnyk’s claims with respect to the authenticity of the agreement. Eterna Law regrets that Mr Stadnyk is misusing all the procedural ways allowed by the Swiss legal system to delay as much as possible the payment of the legitimate fees agreed and overdue. It is Eterna Law’s understanding that the innumerous proceedings attempted by Mr Stadnyk to delay this payment will come to exhaustion in a near future.

Eterna Law and its employees are not a party to any legal proceedings involving disputes between Mr Stadnyk and Kernel following the termination of its mandate. The firm has no knowledge of the status and contents of such legal proceedings. The allegations raised by Mr Stadnyk and his associates to this effect are strenuously denied.

We are always open and ready to provide comprehensive answers to any questions you may have.

pr@eterna.law

Sincerely yours,

ETERNA LAW