Courts of appeal and cassation invalidated transactions worth of RUB 5 bln in total
The Debtor had operated in the market of railway transportation services since 2000. The company ranked 20th in Russia and managed 12,800 cars, including 9,100 cars owned and held on financial lease.
Our lawyers advised the Creditor on the possibility of contesting related transactions that gave rise to the payables intended for affiliated creditors to take control over the Debtor. During the proceedings, the first instance courts disregarded the fact that pass-through money transfers effected on the same date created “the impression of due payment” under the contested loan agreements, bill and bond purchase agreements that de facto had no real business relationships at the basis.
We succeeded in proving in the courts of appeal and cassation that the contested transactions worth of RUB 5 bln in total qualified as related transactions and were intended to disguise a single bond loan buyback transaction at the issuer’s expense just before its bankruptcy (formal issue) and had no real business relationships at the basis.