Aug 29 (Reuters) -

Global paper producer Smurfit Westrock ( SW ) has been

awarded a $469 million arbitration ruling against Venezuela by

the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of

Investment Disputes (ICSID), the company and the tribunal said.

The decision grants the Dublin-based company

compensation for the 2018 seizure of its assets in Venezuela in

excess of $468.7 million, legal costs of $4.5 million and

interest until the date of payment, Smurfit said in a release on

Thursday.

"We will now pursue the full value of this award from

the Venezuelan government," Smurfit Westrock ( SW ) CEO Tony Smurfit

said in a statement.

Smurfit's spokespeople did not immediately reply to a

request for further information. Venezuela's Foreign Affairs

ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Venezuela has lost numerous international arbitration

cases following late President Hugo Chavez's nationalization

wave.

U.S. court case now underway

Smurfit's investments in Venezuela were protected by a

treaty between the Netherlands and Venezuela.

"The tribunal dismissed Venezuela's objections to its

jurisdiction, and held that Venezuela breached the treaty's

protection against unlawful expropriation, the treaty's

protection against unfair and inequitable treatment and

arbitrary and discriminatory measures, and the treaty obligation

to guarantee the repatriation of dividends without undue

restriction or delay," the company added.

The ICSID rendered its decision on Wednesday, according

to its webpage. The case was first introduced in 2018, and the

tribunal was constituted in 2019 to discuss the case.

In July 2024, WestRock and Smurfit Kappa merged to

become Smurfit Westrock ( SW ), a global producer of sustainable

packaging. Smurfit Westrock ( SW ) operates in 40 countries.

(By Marianna Parraga in Houston and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas)