Motylev got hooked by the English court

A bankruptcy case was filed against Anatoly Motylev in London.
15.10.2020
Kommersant
Origin source
Two years after Anatoly Motylev, who built and destroyed a large financial holding, which included the Rossiyskiy Kredit Bank, was declared bankrupt in Russia, a similar case was initiated in London. Now creditors have a real chance to repay their obligations at the expense of the ex-banker's foreign property. However, lawyers warn, this can take several years.

As it became known to Kommersant, the High Court of London, at the request of Russian creditors Anatoly Motylev, decided to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against him in the UK. The DIA confirmed this information, adding that the court appointed interim managers from Grant Thornton and issued a number of orders, including freezing the assets of Anatoly Motylev around the world and conducting searches of his house and office of Megatrend Capital Partners LTD.

To support the case in England, on behalf of the creditors' committee of Mr. Motylev, GR Legal attracted litigation from Harbor Litigation Funding Limited. "In the interests of further proceedings, the details of the assets are not disclosed," the agency said. Earlier, the High Court of London decided to arrest the assets of Anatoly Motylev (see Kommersant on September 29). The opening of the bankruptcy procedure in England will allow Russian creditors to begin procedures for the search and recovery of assets in various jurisdictions, since in Russia the debtor has virtually no significant property, the DIA notes.

Anatoly Motylev controlled five Russian banks (the largest being Russian Credit) and seven NPFs (the largest being Solntse. Zhizn. Pension, Sberfond Solnechny Bereg). The Central Bank revoked the licenses of all these organizations in 2014-2015. DIA is one of the largest creditors of Anatoly Motylev, as a receiver in the bankruptcy of financial organizations controlled by Anatoly Motylev. The total amount of unsatisfied creditors' claims is 217.82 billion rubles, in the course of bankruptcy proceedings 23.79 billion rubles were paid. The Moscow Arbitration Court declared the former banker bankrupt in February 2018.

Lawyers confirm that filing a bankruptcy case in London gives Anatoly Motylev's Russian creditors a real chance of receiving funds, albeit not immediately.

According to Forward Legal's lawyer Lyudmila Lukyanova, this event itself is of great importance for the development of the practice of foreclosure on the assets of Russian citizens hidden in foreign countries. “Russia and the UK have formed a positive practice of recognizing and enforcing court orders in bankruptcy cases,” says Anastasia Cheredova, head of the Vegas Lex special projects group. ... For example, cases of criminal prosecution for concealing property or violating an injunction are not uncommon in practice. "

For creditors, the most rational and quickest way to reach the debtor's property is to open bankruptcy proceedings in the very jurisdiction where most of his assets are located, ”says Elena Kravtsova, director of the corporate law department of RKT.

But the procedure rarely lasts less than a year, in the overwhelming majority of cases the period is longer, explains Denis Frolov, partner of BMS Law Firm. If the debtor does not cooperate with the manager, the term may be delayed, adds Denis Kraujelis, project manager of the legal group "Yakovlev & Partners".

According to Ilya Sorokin, a lawyer and BGP Litigation advisor, the sale of Mr. Motylev's property in the event of a court ruling may take from two to three years or even more.

At the same time, as a rule, foreign courts seek to ensure the debtor maintains a "reasonable" standard of living, excluding elements of obvious luxury, adds Anastasia Cheredova. It is not uncommon, says Mr. Sorokin, when such an "untouchable" amount can be up to several tens of thousands of pounds a month, including the regular costs of renting "very luxurious housing and paying for the services of expensive lawyers."

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