Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Oil spill · Ecuador · 1995–2026

Chevron, Texaco and the Lago Agrio judgment: the RICO ruling and the Donziger cases

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured · 5 disputed · 2 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Did the 1995–98 cleanup settle the damage?
  • Company or project Chevron: Texaco cleaned up and was released from liability (Chevron's position as recorded in the sources reviewed).
  • Researchers Record of the 1995–98 agreement: $40 million was spent; the communities were not party to the agreement and were paid nothing. Oil & Gas Journal

A court in Ecuador gave judgment against Chevron, usually cited as $9.5 billion. A US federal court found in 2014 that the judgment had been obtained by corrupt means, an international arbitration tribunal ruled for Chevron, and the lawyer who won the judgment, Steven Donziger, was disbarred and sentenced for criminal contempt.

0%Share of the Ecuadorian judgment reported paid
As reported by Open Class Actions, 2025–26. The judgment is usually cited as $9.5bn; other figures circulate.

Status As of 2025–26: US courts upheld the RICO ruling and the contempt conviction; none of the Ecuadorian judgment was reported paid; an arbitration ordered Ecuador to pay Chevron more than $224 million.

What?
A judgment in Ecuador against Chevron, usually cited as $9.5 billion, was found by a US federal court to have been obtained by corrupt means and described as resting on fraud and bribery by an arbitration tribunal. The lawyer who won it was disbarred and convicted of criminal contempt. ABA Journal
Where?
Ecuador (Lago Agrio) for the original judgment; the Southern District of New York for the RICO ruling and the contempt proceedings; The Hague for the arbitration set-aside application. ABA Journal
When?
Cleanup and release in 1995–98; RICO ruling on 4 March 2014; Second Circuit affirmance in August 2016; arbitration decision in 2018; contempt sentence on 1 October 2021; release on 25 April 2022; Supreme Court review declined in March 2023. The date of the Ecuadorian judgment is not given. ABA Journal
Who?
Gained
  • Chevron — A federal RICO ruling that the Ecuadorian judgment was obtained by corrupt means, affirmed in August 2016 ABA Journal
  • Chevron — No payment of the Ecuadorian judgment reported in 2025–26; an arbitration order for Ecuador to pay Chevron more than $224 million Open Class Actions
Lost
  • Steven Donziger — Disbarred in August 2020; sentenced to six months for criminal contempt; about 993 days of house arrest and 45 days in prison (another account: more than 800 days of house arrest)
Harmed
  • Affected communities — Were not party to the 1995–98 cleanup agreement and were paid nothing under it Oil & Gas Journal
Why?
The federal court found the judgment was obtained through ghostwriting and a promise of $500,000 to the judge; Chevron's position is that Texaco cleaned up and was released. ABA Journal
How?
Chevron brought a civil RICO case against the lawyer in New York; he was later disciplined and prosecuted for criminal contempt for refusing to hand over his devices; Chevron also prevailed in international arbitration against Ecuador. ABA Journal
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Between 1995 and 1998 a cleanup in Ecuador was carried out under an agreement in which $40 million was spent and Texaco was released from further liability. Chevron's position, as recorded in the sources reviewed, is that Texaco cleaned up and was released from liability. The communities were not parties to that agreement and nothing was paid to them under it.

A court in Ecuador (Lago Agrio) later gave judgment against Chevron. The judgment is usually cited as $9.5 billion; figures of $8.6 billion, $9.2 billion and more than $18 billion also circulate and are unverified. The sources reviewed do not give the date of the judgment or the facts on which it was based.

On 4 March 2014 Judge Lewis Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a 485-page civil racketeering (RICO) ruling for Chevron against the lawyer Steven Donziger. He found that the Ecuadorian judgment had been obtained "by corrupt means", including ghostwriting and a promise of $500,000 to the judge. The Second Circuit affirmed the ruling in August 2016. The ABA Journal reported that the lawyer who won the judgment could not collect it.

In 2018 an arbitration tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled for Chevron against Ecuador; the $9.5 billion judgment is described as found to rest on fraud and bribery. An application to set the decision aside was rejected at The Hague in September 2020, and a compensation stage was noted as still open. Open Class Actions reported in 2025–26 that none of the Ecuadorian judgment had been paid and that an arbitration ordered Ecuador to pay Chevron more than $224 million.

Donziger was suspended from practice in New York in 2018 and disbarred by the New York Appellate Division in August 2020. He was charged with criminal contempt for refusing to hand over his devices, in a prosecution brought by a private law firm after the US prosecutor's office declined to bring it. He was held under pretrial house arrest from August 2019. On 1 October 2021 Judge Loretta Preska sentenced him to six months, the maximum.

He was released on 25 April 2022 after about 993 days of house arrest and 45 days in prison, according to one account; another gives more than 800 days of house arrest. The conviction was affirmed in June 2022 and the US Supreme Court declined review in March 2023. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (Opinion 24/2021) found that his deprivation of liberty was arbitrary.

  1. 19951995–98: $40 million spent on Texaco cleanup; Chevron’s position is that Texaco cleaned up and was released; communities not party to the agreement and paid nothing
  2. 20144 March: Judge Kaplan’s 485-page RICO ruling for Chevron finds the Ecuadorian judgment was obtained by corrupt means
  3. 2016August: Second Circuit affirms the RICO ruling
  4. 2018Donziger suspended from practice in New York; Permanent Court of Arbitration rules for Chevron
  5. 2019August: pretrial house arrest begins
  6. 2020August: disbarred by the New York Appellate Division; September: application to set aside the arbitration decision rejected at The Hague
  7. 20211 October: sentenced to six months for criminal contempt by Judge Preska; UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issues Opinion 24/2021
  8. 202225 April: released after about 993 days of house arrest and 45 days in prison; June: conviction affirmed
  9. 2023March: US Supreme Court declines review of the conviction
  10. 20262025–26: none of the Ecuadorian judgment reported paid; arbitration orders Ecuador to pay Chevron more than $224 million

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“by corrupt means”

Judge Lewis Kaplan, US District Court, Southern District of New York, on the Ecuadorian judgment (ruling of 4 March 2014, as reported by the ABA Journal) · 4 March 2014 · ABA Journal

“arbitrary”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Was the Ecuadorian judgment obtained legitimately?
Courts
Judge Lewis Kaplan, US District Court (Southern District of New York)

Found in a 485-page RICO ruling that the judgment was obtained “by corrupt means”, including ghostwriting and a promise of $500,000 to the judge. Affirmed by the Second Circuit in August 2016.

ABA Journal
International bodies
Permanent Court of Arbitration tribunal

Ruled for Chevron in 2018; the $9.5 billion judgment is described as found to rest on fraud and bribery. A set-aside application was rejected at The Hague in September 2020.

Oil & Gas Journal
Was the prosecution and detention of Steven Donziger justified?
Courts
Judge Loretta Preska

Sentenced him on 1 October 2021 to six months for criminal contempt, the maximum; the conviction was affirmed in June 2022 and the US Supreme Court declined review in March 2023.

International bodies
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Found in Opinion 24/2021 that his deprivation of liberty was arbitrary.

UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
Did the 1995–98 cleanup settle the damage?
Company or project
Chevron

Texaco cleaned up and was released from liability (Chevron's position as recorded in the sources reviewed).

Researchers
Record of the 1995–98 agreement

$40 million was spent; the communities were not party to the agreement and were paid nothing.

Oil & Gas Journal

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Texaco cleaned up and was released from liability.
    Chevron's position as recorded in the sources reviewed (Chevron's own wording is not reproduced)

Recorded

  • $40 million was spent on cleanup in 1995–98 and a release was given; the communities were not party to the agreement and were paid nothing.
    Oil & Gas Journal
  • A US federal court found the Ecuadorian judgment was obtained by corrupt means, including ghostwriting and a promise of $500,000 to the judge; the Second Circuit affirmed in August 2016.
    ABA Journal
  • The ABA Journal reported that the lawyer who won the Ecuadorian judgment could not collect it.
    ABA Journal
  • A Permanent Court of Arbitration tribunal ruled for Chevron in 2018; a set-aside application was rejected at The Hague in September 2020.
    Oil & Gas Journal
  • None of the Ecuadorian judgment was reported paid in 2025–26; an arbitration ordered Ecuador to pay Chevron more than $224 million.
    Open Class Actions
  • Donziger was suspended in 2018 and disbarred in August 2020, and was sentenced on 1 October 2021 to six months for criminal contempt; the contempt case was prosecuted by a private law firm after the US prosecutor's office declined to bring it.
  • The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Donziger's deprivation of liberty arbitrary (Opinion 24/2021).
    UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

$40m
The only amount in the sources reviewed recorded as spent on the ground.
Texaco cleanup spending recorded for 1995–98$40m
Chevron's position is that this settled the cleanup. The communities were not party to the agreement and were paid nothing.

Gained elsewhere

> $224m
Arbitration order for Ecuador to pay Chevron> $224m
Ordered, per Open Class Actions (2025–26). The sources reviewed do not say whether it was paid.
Reached the ground
$40m
Gained elsewhere
> $224m
Currency: USD · Window: 1995–2026. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • chevron (1995–98 arrangement): Texaco cleaned up and was released from liability (Chevron's position as recorded in the sources reviewed; its own wording is not reproduced).
  • chevron (4 March 2014): Won the civil RICO case against Steven Donziger in the Southern District of New York; the ruling found the Ecuadorian judgment was obtained by corrupt means. · ABA Journal

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. Claimant won$9500000bn Usually cited; other figures circulate
    Lago Agrio judgment against Chevron
    Court in Ecuador (Lago Agrio) · Civil · Plaintiffs represented by Steven Donziger (not otherwise named) → Chevron

    Judgment in Ecuador against Chevron, usually cited as $9.5 billion. It was found by a US federal court to have been obtained by corrupt means. As of 2025–26 none of it was reported paid. Open Class Actions

  2. 2014-03-04Claimant won
    Chevron v. Donziger (civil RICO)
    US District Court, Southern District of New York (Judge Lewis Kaplan); Second Circuit on appeal · Civil · Chevron → Steven Donziger

    485-page ruling for Chevron finding the Ecuadorian judgment was obtained by corrupt means, including ghostwriting and a promise of $500,000 to the judge. Affirmed by the Second Circuit in August 2016. ABA Journal

  3. 2021-10-01Claimant won
    Criminal contempt prosecution of Steven Donziger
    US District Court, Southern District of New York (Judge Loretta Preska) · Criminal · United States (prosecution brought by a private law firm after the US prosecutor's office declined to bring it) → Steven Donziger

    Convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to hand over his devices. Pretrial house arrest from August 2019. Sentenced on 1 October 2021 to six months, the maximum. Released on 25 April 2022 after about 993 days of house arrest and 45 days in prison (another account gives more than 800 days of house arrest). Conviction affirmed in June 2022; the US Supreme Court declined review in March 2023.

  4. 2020-08Claimant won
    Disbarment of Steven Donziger
    New York Appellate Division · Administrative · Attorney disciplinary authority → Steven Donziger

    Suspended in 2018 and disbarred in August 2020.

  5. 2018Claimant won$224000bn More than; Ecuador ordered to pay Chevron (2025–26 report)
    Chevron v. Ecuador (investment arbitration)
    Permanent Court of Arbitration; set-aside application at The Hague · Arbitration · Chevron → Government of Ecuador

    Tribunal ruled for Chevron in 2018, in a decision that referred to fraud and bribery in connection with the $9.5 billion judgment; a set-aside application was rejected in September 2020 and a compensation stage was noted as open. Open Class Actions reported in 2025–26 that Ecuador was ordered to pay Chevron more than $224 million. Whether the amount was paid is not stated. Oil & Gas Journal

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Share of the Ecuadorian judgment reported paid
0%
Open Class Actions, 2025–26; the judgment is usually cited as $9.5bn
Cleanup spending recorded in 1995–98
$40m
Communities were not party to the agreement and were paid nothing
Judgment found obtained by corrupt means
4 Mar 2014
US federal court, Southern District of New York; affirmed in August 2016
Independent ecological evaluation
None on record
No survey of ecological damage appears in the sources reviewed

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Court ruling exists

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
  • Disputed Did the 1995–98 cleanup settle the damage?

Accounts

  • Disputed Was the Ecuadorian judgment obtained legitimately?
  • Disputed Was the prosecution and detention of Steven Donziger justified?

Record

  • Disputed The amount of the Ecuadorian judgment is reported differently: it is usually cited as $9.5 billion, while $8.6 billion, $9.2 billion and more than $18 billion also circulate and are unverified.
  • Disputed Accounts differ on the length of Donziger's house arrest: about 993 days (with 45 days in prison) in one account, more than 800 days in another.
  • None on record The date and court of the original Lago Agrio judgment and the facts on which it was based are not given in the sources reviewed.
  • None on record The 2018 arbitration decision is described as finding that the Lago Agrio judgment rested on fraud and bribery; no source reviewed quotes the finding. The compensation stage of that arbitration is noted as open and its outcome was not found.
  • Unclear An Open Class Actions item dated 2025–26 is read as reporting an order for Ecuador to pay Chevron more than $224 million; the tribunal, the date of the order and whether it was paid are not stated, and one account treats the item's meaning as unclear.
  • Unclear Whether any money has been paid to the Ecuadorian plaintiffs or for remediation is not on record; nothing was reported paid from the judgment or to communities under the 1995–98 agreement.

Did the harm stop?

The sources reviewed record no ecological outcome. They record that none of the Ecuadorian judgment was reported paid in 2025–26.

Who paid?

Recorded: $40 million of Texaco cleanup spending in 1995–98 with no payment to communities under that agreement; no payment of the Ecuadorian judgment as of 2025–26; and an arbitration order for Ecuador to pay Chevron more than $224 million.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies

Press and investigations

  2. International tribunal rules for Chevron in ongoing Ecuador case
    Oil & Gas Journal · undated in sources reviewed

International bodies

  1. Opinion 24/2021 concerning Steven Donziger
    UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention · 2021

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Law and courts

Arbitration
A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.
Class action
A single lawsuit brought on behalf of a large group of people with similar claims.
Punitive damages
Money a court orders a defendant to pay to punish especially reckless conduct, on top of compensation for losses. Mainly used in US courts.
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