UPDATE 4: Court seizes 185 bln rbl assets of Sistema under Rosneft case

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UFA, Jun 27 (PRIME) -- The Arbitration Court of the republic of Bashkortostan has seized 185 billion rubles worth of assets of multi-industry holding Sistema under a 170.6 billion ruble suit filed by oil major Rosneft, as seen by PRIME on Tuesday in materials of the court.

On Monday, Sistema received an arrest order for a 31.76% stake in mobile operator MTS, 100% in healthcare company Medsi, and 90.5% in Bashkir Power Grid Company under a court request from Rosneft and its unit Bashneft. Sistema said it planned to litigate the move.

“The provisional measures were requested by the claimants and were done in the form of asset arrest of the defendants that were estimated at no more than 185 billion rubles and also in the form of prohibition for registering authorities to carry out registration activities with the property owned by the defendants. The measures are connected to the matter of the dispute as the claimants have put forward a money claim to redeem losses for a comparable sum,” the court said.

“Approval of the provisional measures is necessary to ensure fulfillment of the court order on the case, to prevent infliction of damage on the claimants, and to ensure safety of the defendants’ property.”

Judge Irina Nurislamova said that the court postponed hearing of the suit to July 12.

Sistema has asked court to turn down the suit.

“Our position has not changed, we are asking to leave the claim without consideration,” a Sistema representative said.

Rosneft filed the suit in May, seeking to recover a loss stemming from alleged asset withdrawal from Bashneft in 2009–2014 by Sistema.

During the hearing, the court refused to bring the Federal State Property Management Agency into the proceedings as a third party. Sistema said that since Bashneft was nationalized in late 2014, Rosneft received the asset from the federal authority.

The court also refused to suspend the proceedings under the case. Bashneft Spokesman Sergei Kopytov said that Sistema will contest the decision.

Sistema earlier offered a way to settle the case out of court without money compensation, but Rosneft called the proposal unsubstantiated.

Sistema also sent a claim to the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow to deny a proof of its guilt presented by Rosneft, spokeswoman for the court Emiliya Khil told PRIME on Tuesday.

The hearing was slated for July 10.

Rosneft used a notarized copy of letters by officials of Bashneft to prove that the former shareholder withdrew assets from the oil company.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin has not sided with any participant of the conflict.

Business daily Kommersant reported last week that Sistema’s independent directors asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to pay attention to the lawsuit because it demonstrates an attempt by a state company to expand its power, using unscrupulous methods.

A source with knowledge of the situation told PRIME that security services of the Bashkortostan Republic will investigate an incident with a fake repeal of the case against Sistema.

Last week, a document saying that that Rosneft and Bashneft had filed a request to reject the suit appeared on the Web site of the Arbitration Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The information was later refuted.

(59.0014 rubles – U.S. $1)

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