James Pirie and Alan Roberts of Grant Thornton were appointed as provisional liquidators of RTI on 17 July 2025, marking Jersey’s first provisional liquidation appointment and a significant step in cross-border insolvency cooperation.
RTI is a subsidiary of UC Rusal International, Russia’s second-largest aluminium producer, and was reportedly the major trading subsidiary of the wider Rusal group. The appointment of provisional liquidators was made to safeguard the company’s assets and investigate its affairs, pending the Royal Court of Jersey’s ruling on a winding-up application brought by OWH, a BaFin-controlled German bank subsidiary of VTB Bank.
The dispute dates back to a 2019 currency swap agreement between RTI and OWH to hedge against rouble volatility. Following sanctions in 2022, OWH terminated the agreement on compliance grounds. RTI challenged the termination at the London Court of International Arbitration, but the tribunal found in OWH’s favour and awarded it over €213 million. The Royal Court of Jersey recognised that award and, in June 2025, refused RTI’s request for a stay of execution in relation to enforcement or asset disclosure.
The provisional liquidators applied to the Royal Court for a letter of request to the High Court of England and Wales seeking recognition of their appointment so they could investigate assets and obtain books and records in England. They also sought recognition of the statutory moratorium on proceedings imposed under Article 157B(4) of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991.
The Royal Court concluded that cooperation with the English courts was appropriate (noting the analogy between insolvency procedures), that recognition was in creditors’ best interests, that investigations would be hampered without recognition, and that the letter of request would be favourably received by the English Court. The Court issued the letter of request substantially as applied for, but emphasised that any powers granted in England must be confined to those conferred by the Royal Court under Jersey law.
On 8 September 2025 the High Court ordered recognition of the provisional liquidators’ appointment in England and Wales.
The provisional liquidators are represented by Walkers (Jersey) LLP in Jersey and by Pinsent Masons in the UK.
Pictured: James Pirie
