20
Mon, Mar
50 New Articles

EPAM Successful for St. Petersburg Bank in English High Court Against Vitaly Arkhangelsky and Oslo Marine Group Ports

EPAM Successful for St. Petersburg Bank in English High Court Against Vitaly Arkhangelsky and Oslo Marine Group Ports

Russia
Tools
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has successfully represented Bank Saint Petersburg in a case against Russian entrepreneur Vitaly Arkhangelsky and Oslo Marine Group Ports LLC before the High Court of Justice. The Court ordered Oslo Marine Group Ports to pay St. Petersburg Bank over RUB 1.5 billion and dismissed the counterclaim of Arkhangelsky and OMG.

From 2006 to 2008 OMG Ports and Arkhangelsky borrowed more than RUB 14 billion from eight Russian banks, including Bank St. Petersburg. However, in 2009 OMG Ports defaulted on its loans, and Arkhangelsky fled Russia to seek asylum in France.

Subsequently, Bank St. Petersburg became involved in a long-running dispute with Arkhangelsky including over 20 claims in Russia, Bulgaria, and the British Virgin Islands. Arkhangelsky also made a counterclaim against the bank, alleging that its actions against OMG constituted a “fraudulent raiding” scheme on OMG’s assets, worth USD 500 million.

In 2011 the parties agreed to refer the dispute to the High Court of Justice for resolution. As a result, the Court dismissed Arkhangelsky's USD 500 million claim against Bank St. Petersburg and granted the bank's claim to recover RUB 1.8 billion from Arkhangelsky under various loan and suretyship agreements.

According to the High Court of Justice, Arkhangelsky remains in debt not only to Bank St. Petersburg, but also to Vnesheconombank, VTB, Bank Vozrozhdenie, Sviaz-Bank, Master Bank, Marine Joint-Stock Bank, Energomashbank, and Lipetskcombank.

The EPAM team consisted of Saint Petersburg Office Managing Partner Ivan Smirnov, Senior Associate Evgeny Gurchenko, and Associate Ays Lidjanova.

Russian Knowledge Partner

Founded in 1993, Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners is the leading full-service law firm in the CIS with offices in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and associated office in Cyprus.

We handle some of the largest and most complex and demanding transactions. We advise our clients in many areas of law, including: dispute resolution in Russia and abroad, International Arbitration and Litigation, M&A and Corporate, antitrust issues, criminal law, intellectual property, restructurings and insolvencies, international trade and customs, tax, real estate and construction, banking and finance, energy and natural resources, environmental and technical regulation, marine and transport law, pharmaceuticals and healthcare and others.

We combine high academic qualifications, internationally acknowledged moral and ethical values, senior partners' professional experience and practical abilities with the vigour and knowledge of younger attorneys, providing clients with reliable, first-class service according to both Russian and western standards through a flexible structure.

All News about, and Legal Analysis by, Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners can be found here.

Firm's website: www.epam.ru

 

Our Latest Issue