ADM Scores Tentative Win in Case Tied to Oligarch Looting Claims

Archer-Daniels Midland Co. notched a preliminary court victory Wednesday against a bid by Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank—which is scouring the globe for billions allegedly looted by an exiled oligarch—to revive a defunct unit of the agricultural giant so it can answer offshore money-laundering claims.

A magistrate judge, Bonnie W. David, recommended denying BTA’s petition to appoint a receiver for the entity, ADM Trade Resources Inc., which shut down in 2016. David, writing for Delaware’s Chancery Court, said the Almaty-based bank offered only “speculation” to back up its claim that the ADM affiliate “wrongfully distributed” assets when it dissolved. Magistrate reports generally ...