Court of appeal upholds return of Metafrax shares to government

PERM, Nov 27 (PRIME) -- The 17th Arbitration Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court decision that supported the transfer of more than 90% in Perm-based chemical plant Metafrax Chemicals to the government, according to the information obtained by PRIME in the court on Monday.

The Prosecutor General’s office earlier filed a suit against the 1990s privatization of the chemical plant. As of the moment of the suit, Metaholding controlled more than 281 million shares in Metafrax out of the plant’s 293,779,422 shares, while Metafrax Trading owned 802,000 shares.

The prosecutors said that the plant’s privatization violated several regulatory acts and the 1991 law on privatization of the state property because the plant produces hazardous chemicals. The Arbitration Court of the Perm Region sided with the prosecutors and cancelled the plant’s privatization, returning a stake of more than 90% to the government.

Metaholding appealed against the decision, but the 17th Arbitration Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Metafrax Chemicals produces methanol, ethylamine, pentaerythritol, hexamethylentetramine, formaldehyde, and polymide.

End