On July 14, 2015 an international agreement was reached on Iran’s nuclear program. The IAEA announced in January 2016 that Iran has complied with the terms of the agreement. Most of the imposed sanctions against Iran were suspended. Dutch companies can resume trade relations with Iranian companies again. This is the case with regard to Finance & Insurance, Oil and Gas, Shipping & Transport, and Gold & precious Metals. We hope this will mean new business opportunities for your company as well. Our law firm Aelan Advocaten is ready to assist you in all new business relations between Iranian and Dutch companies.
The lawyers of Aelan Advocaten have gained considerable experience in relation to Iranian businesses in the past two decades. Moreover, we cooperate with reliable Iranian professionals speaking Farsi and who can provide intermediary services.
The lawyers and attorneys of Aelan Advocaten have provided their legal services to several Iranian companies, which were in a legal dispute with a Dutch company and/or seeking legal assistance for proceedings at Dutch courts. Recently, we have successfully represented a large petrochemical company, producing PVC materials.
What was the case about? A Dutch company was willing to sell and ship on of the raw materials for the production of PVC to the Iranian buyer, but only if the purchase price was paid in advance. The Iranian buyer was willing to pay in advance, but only if it would be guaranteed that the sum transferred would be returned if the Dutch seller would fail to deliver the raw materials, for example in case of bankruptcy of the Dutch seller. The parties agreed that the purchase price, 1.7 million euros, would be transferred into an escrow account and would remain in escrow until delivery was completed and the quality thereof accepted. A written escrow-agreement was drafted. It consisted of not more than one page. The Dutch seller requested Fortis bank to act as the escrow agent. A director of Fortis Bank agreed to this request and signed the short and simple escrow agreement. Thereafter, the Iranian buyer transferred the purchase price to the escrow account. The Dutch party eventually failed to deliver the purchased product and went bankrupt. Fortis bank was in default, as Fortis bank had not retained the purchase price in escrow: right after the transfer by the Iranian buyer, the sum was transferred to another account of the seller.
After services of a larger law firm had not been satisfactory to the Iranian buyer, the Iranian company turned to the lawyers of Aelan Advocaten. Fortis Bank had, by that time, been taken over by ABN AMRO bank. ABN AMRO bank disputed that it had failed to duly execute her duties with all possible arguments. The escrow agreement, according to the bank, was not more than a mere Letter of Intent. Moreover, the Fortis branch manager would not have been authorized to sign the agreement. And: the Iranian buyer had not signed the document itself and therefore could not assert any rights based on that document. Up to the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam, our lawyer mr. F. W. Henstra successfully represented the interests of the Iranian Petrochemical company. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal awarded all claims of our Iranian client. The bank was ordered to pay 1.9 million euros. The court’s decision can be found here: http://deeplink.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak?id=ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2016:354
We speak and write fluent English. Moreover, we work with reliable professionals, who speak Farsi as a native language and may assist in translations or provide further intermediary services. We can assist you in legal proceedings, but we do more: we are specialized in drafting different kinds of contracts, we assist in setting up companies or joint ventures, we provide advice in employment law, real estate, etcetera.
Iranian companies wishing to do business in the Netherlands or seeking to start legal proceedings at a Dutch court, and Dutch companies wanting to do business in Iran: we are happy to assist you.