Source: cases/18usc1962/f-supp-3d-380-55-republic-of-kazakhstan-v-stati.case
Case source: https://www.neochart.com/catalog/cases/f-supp-3d/volume_380/0055_01/index.html
At bottom, the RICO claims are entirely predicated on defendants' initiation and prosecution of non-frivolous litigation, and plaintiff's alleged domestic injuries consist of the legal costs it incurred in resisting the enforcement of a valid and binding arbitral award.
Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff has not pled a "pattern of racketeering."
casedsl 1.2 # author: Flash1 (gemini-3.8-flash-high) # triaged-by: Fable (2026-11-10) case /f-supp-3d/380/0055-01 name Republic of Kaz. v. Stati cite 380 F. Supp. 3d 55 (2019) # IR court field says: United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia court United States District Court for the District of Columbia date 2019-03-30 url catalog/cases/f-supp-3d/volume_380/0055_01/index.html source ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_380.jsonl sha1=511b0e73935b8947384e7764fbc34cce8d397cee chars=33060 opinion op : majority by Jackson @0..33060 controlling party p1 : Stati Parties (Anatolie and Gabriel Stati, Ascom Group, Terra Raf) count c1 : Counts I and II, civil RICO § 1962(c) and (d) theory t1 : mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering consisting of litigation filings and legal-fee payments made to obtain and enforce an arbitral award theory t2 : single scheme, single injury, single victim (Edmondson factors) law 18usc1962 (c), (d) role applied posture civil; Kazakhstan sued the holders of a Stockholm arbitral award under § 1962(c) and (d), alleging the award was procured by fraud and that the enforcement litigation was racketeering; Rule 12(b)(6) motion granted, RICO counts dismissed with prejudice result claimant-lost element racketeering : not-satisfied [law] route _whole pattern litigation filings and payment of counsel's fees in arbitration-enforcement proceedings pleaded as mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering party p1 count c1 theory t1 fact @3364..3711 [supports] | Thus, Kazakhstan charges that the Stati Parties misrepresented the value of the LPG plant during the SCC arbitration when they proffered "the fraudulently procured bids," the "falsified financial statements," "false testimony regarding the amount of the investment in the LPG [p]lant," and "expert reports" that restated those figures as evidence. fact @14828..14981 [cuts-against] | The predicate acts of mail fraud and wire fraud that Kazakhstan lists to support its RICO claim all involve the filing of legal documents and complaints. fact @18505..18627 [cuts-against] | But that misses the mark since the alleged "money laundering" consists merely of defendants' payments of their legal fees. rule @13540..13788 [quoted] | Courts do not allow allegedly fraudulent " 'litigation activities,' such as filing fraudulent documents or engaging in baseless litigation to serve as predicate acts for RICO ... where such acts constitute 'the only allegedly fraudulent conduct.' " held @13206..13476 | At bottom, the RICO claims are entirely predicated on defendants' initiation and prosecution of non-frivolous litigation, and plaintiff's alleged domestic injuries consist of the legal costs it incurred in resisting the enforcement of a valid and binding arbitral award. ? route: no route for "litigation activity cannot be a predicate act"; the ruling covers mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering together, so the parent element is used gloss Added in triage: the court's first and principal ground. Non-frivolous litigation activity (filings, service, payment of counsel) cannot serve as RICO predicate acts. element pattern : not-satisfied [pleaded] scope alternative route _whole pattern one scheme to inflate a plant's value and collect an arbitral award; one injury (legal fees); one victim party p1 count c1 theory t2 fact @21721..22009 [cuts-against] | While there are various stages to this alleged scheme, ultimately all of the actions described in the complaint were aimed at accomplishing a "single discrete goal," Edmondson , 48 F.3d at 1265 - defendants' efforts to artificially inflate the value of the LPG plant to enrich themselves. fact @22010..22105 [cuts-against] | Moreover, plaintiff pled a single, discrete injury - legal fees - and a single victim - itself. fact @23227..23523 [supports] | The mere fact that the alleged scheme occurred over an extended period of time, is of no consequence in this case, because the acts listed relate to the same goal, and much of the time spent on these matters was expended dealing with Kazakhstan's repeated efforts to undermine the arbitral award. rule @21047..21225 [quoted] | Notably, the Court held that when a plaintiff merely alleges a "single scheme, single injury, and few victims," it is "virtually impossible for plaintiffs to state a RICO claim." held @22135..22220 | Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff has not pled a "pattern of racketeering." ? guard: G3-cited-case the sentence describes this complaint's scheme; Edmondson is cited only as the source of the quoted phrase "single discrete goal" ? scope: introduced with "Even if plaintiff had succeeded in alleging predicate acts", hence alternative; the conclusion lists both grounds side by side ? route: the D.C. Circuit's six-factor Edmondson test (single scheme / single injury / few victims) is decided on the pattern element as a whole, not separately as relatedness or continuity gloss Independent second ground: a single scheme with a single discrete goal, one injury and one victim is not a pattern under Edmondson, however long it lasted. misfit The § 1962(d) conspiracy count fell derivatively with the § 1962(c) count; extraterritoriality, domestic injury and proximate cause were argued but expressly not reached. Neither is recorded as a block.