US court asks India to pay $132 million to Deutsche Telekom

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has confirmed a $132-million award awarded to German company Deutsche Telekom (DT) against the Republic of India. Deutsche Telekom petitioned the confirmation of the court regarding the award while India opposed the petition, seeking the dismissal of the award.  

This was awarded by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law arbitration, after it found that India was in violation of the bilateral investment treaty signed between Germany and India. The Indian government terminated a spectrum deal between state-owned Antrix and Devas in 2011. In Devas, Deutsche Telekom was a shareholder.  

The enforcement of this award in the US has been sought by Deutsche Telekom. On two fronts India tried to dismiss this petition. First, that the US was not the appropriate jurisdiction to enforce this award, or “forum non conveniens,” The court declined this dismissal.   

Also, India argued that the telecom company did not have sufficient evidence to claim this award. However, the German company met its burden of proof under the BIT.

“DT has met its burden of production. It has supplied copies of the BIT. DT’s notice of arbitration against India and the arbitral panel’s decision,” the court found.

Multiple shareholders of Devas are pursuing arbitral awards against the Indian government in various jurisdictions internationally. Certain Antrix assets have already been seized in the US, and certain assets of the Indian government have also been seized in France and Canada.

Indian courts have dismissed some of these awards, including a $1-billion award against the government enforced by the ICC. The Supreme Court of India acknowledged that the reason for the dismissal of these awards is the fraudulent incorporation of Devas.