Inside the affair that has haunted Total for 15 years

From December 1 to 19, the Nanterre criminal court is set to hear a thorny case involving enigmatic Russian figures and the French multinational Total, against a backdrop of fraudulent international arbitration. In France, this case threatens to further undermine the reputation of this method of dispute resolution, which is particularly valued for its speed and confidentiality but is vulnerable to financial wrongdoing and corruption.

One of the biggest…