US court allows Devas investors to track down ISRO commercial arm Antrix’s assets to recover $1.3 billion compensation

A federal court in the United States has allowed investors in the start-up firm Devas Multimedia to identify assets of the Indian Space Research Organization’s commercial arm Antrix Corporation to attach them for recovery of a $1.3 billion compensation award made by an international arbitration tribunal over a failed 2005 satellite deal.

The US court for the western district of Washington has provided a limited amount of protection from attachment of assets as sought by Antrix Corporation in a counter to the Devas investors’ plea.

In an order passed on August 16, the US federal court has also stated that the investors can look at Antrix Corporation’s “relationships with the Government of India and NewSpace” as part of the effort to identify assets for attachment to recover the compensation.