USDJ Denise L. Cote confirmed a $10 million AAA Arbitration Award in the matter of Westminster Securities Corporation v. Petrocom Energy Limited and Petrocom Limited

Judge Cote has confirmed an American Arbitration Association Award against Petrocom Limited and Petrocom Energy Limited (“Petrocom”), a Chinese coal blending company that was recently highlighted in a New York Times article. The esteemed Tribunal of top international arbitrators determined that Petrocom failed to pay placement agent fees and issue warrants when Westminster Securities Corporation (“Westminster”) raised over $35 million for Petrocom and its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Howard Au. Specifically, the Tribunal awarded Westminster approximately $2,250,000 in damages, which included placement agent compensation, attorneys’ fees and costs and a $50,000 sanction against Petrocom for its “flouting” of the Tribunal’s Order, plus a total of 4,080,000 in Warrants. Considering that these warrants are believed to be valued at $2.00 per warrant (at a minimum), the total damages awarded to Westminster exceeded $10 million.