The High Court of London has decided to freeze the assets of Russian businessman Vitaly Orlov for $ 350 million in a dispute with another entrepreneur Alexander Tugushev over the ownership of a share in the fishing company Norebo Holding, writes Bloomberg. The decision was made on July 23.

According to the agency, Orlov did not intend to appeal the decision of the court.

Norebo Holding includes fishing, trading, processing and infrastructure enterprises located in the north-west of Russia and the Far East.

RBC wrote about the history of the relationship between Tugushev and Orlov. In the 1990s Tugushev founded a fishing company, and Orlov took a job in the Swedish Scansea International, which bought fish from sailors in Murmansk, including Tugushev's company, and sold it in Norway. In 1997 Tugushev, Orlov and co-owner of Scansea International Magnus Roth founded the company Ocean Trawlers in Norway, which started shipping trawlers to Russia in exchange for fillets. The following year, they founded the Karat Holding, Tugushev said that he received a 34% stake, while Orlov and Roth received 33% each. Orlov in 2017 announced to RBC that he had not established Carat and Ocean Travels with Tugushev.

In 2003, Tugushev moved to the post of deputy head of the Roskrybrylovstvo, which was given the right to distribute quotas for fishing for a period of five years. Tugushev claimed that he had re-written his share of the nominal shareholders. Orlov insists that his partner received $ 30 million for the package.

New job Tugushev proved defendant in a criminal case related to the allocation of fishing quotas. In 2005, the court sentenced him to six years in prison. When he was released, he returned to Tugushev "Karat" for the position of councilor. After that, "Karat" began to buy up the assets, including the Far East, and from 2013 the parent structure of the group became known as the "Norebo holding". Orlov owned 67%, Rota - 33%, Tugushev said that Orlov promised to return his share, but did not do so. After that, Orlov dismissed Tugushev from the management of the holding, Tugushev demanded to return his share. The shareholders did not come to an agreement, and Tugushev told law enforcement that he had been abducted, and Orlov turned to the Investigative Committee, accusing the partner of extortion.

Tugushev was eventually arrested after Orlov announced that he received threatening calls. Later, the measure of restraint Tugushev was changed to a written undertaking not to leave the place.

In 2016, Orlov bought out the share of Roth in Norrebo and became the sole owner of the holding. According to Bloomberg, in a London court Tugushev's lawyers insist that he was the victim of a "complex conspiracy" by Orlov and another co-founder of the holding. Orlov's lawyers point to Tugushev's prison term. Representatives of the latter insist that the criminal case against their client was politically motivated. Orlov's lawyer drew the attention of the court to the fact that it is unclear who pays for Tugushev's legal costs and stated about the "mysterious sponsor". The representative of Tugushev told the agency that the expenses are covered by a third party.