Return of money for Bashneft delayed

There is a new twist in the confrontation between AFK Systema with Ural-Invest, from which in 2009 the corporation bought the Bashneft’s package, seized from it by the state in December. AFK tries to recover 70.7 billion rubles from Ural-Invest. But the charity fund Ural itself sued Ural-Invest and AFK, required to recognize the sale of Bashneft null and void. This will delay the consideration of the Systema’s claim, lawyers think. According to the Kommersant’s information, AFK seriously hoped to get at least half of the compensation, but now the prospect of this is unclear.

On Tuesday, charitable fund Ural (controlled by the ex-President of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov) filed a lawsuit against its subsidiary Ural-Invest and AFK Sistema of Vladimir Yevtushenkov to recognize the purchase and sale of Bashneft’s shares null and void, lawyer of Ural Ayrat Latypov reported yesterday. It happened a little less than a week before the arbitral tribunal in Moscow on the AFK’s claim against Ural-Invest. Systema demands to return 70.7 billion rubles, paid for the controlling stake of Bashneft in 2009. Transaction and privatization of the Bashkir fuel and energy sector, as a result of which a number of funds received shares of companies, on the basis of which Bashneft was created, prompted questions of the General Prosecutor’s Office last summer, and in December, 71.8% of the company returned to the state.