BESTLAWYERS@KTAPLAW.RU
+7 (495) 902 72 72
+7 (495) 902 72 72
119121, RUSSIAN FEDERATION,
MOSCOW, 7TH ROSTOVSKY LANE, 15
MOSCOW, 7TH ROSTOVSKY LANE, 15
BANKRUPTCY, DEBT RECOVERY, AND PROTECTION FROM PENALTIES
IN PERIODS OF ECONOMIC TURBULENCE, EFFECTIVE LEGAL SUPPORT IN THE RESTRUCTURING, INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY SECTORS BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT.
BANKRUPTCY, DEBT RECOVERY, AND PROTECTION FROM PENALTIES
IN PERIODS OF ECONOMIC TURBULENCE, EFFECTIVE LEGAL SUPPORT IN THE RESTRUCTURING, INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY SECTORS BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT.
SINCE THE LAW FIRM WAS FOUNDED, DEBT COLLECTION AND BANKRUPTCY FIELD HAS BEEN ITS UNDERLYING FOCUS. THUS, FOR A LONG TIME, THE LAW FIRM WAS ACCREDITED BY THE DEPOSIT INSURANCE AGENCY (DIA) AS A LEGAL ADVISOR, AND PROVIDED ADVISORY SERVICES WITH REGARD TO THE INSOLVENCY OF CREDIT INSTITUTIONS AS AN EXPERT FOR THE AGENCY FOR THE RESTRUCTURING OF CREDIT ORGANIZATIONS (ARCO), AND WAS ACCREDITED BY SBERBANK OF RUSSIA UNTIL 2012.
NOWADAYS, LEGAL WORK TO RECOVER ASSETS UNDER BANKRUPTCY IS IN HIGH DEMAND. THE PROFESSIONALS OF THE LAW FIRM HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING THEIR PRACTICE IN THIS FIELD FOR THREE DECADES AND HAVE MASTERED UNIQUE METHODS FOR PROTECTING CREDITORS AND RECOVERING THEIR ASSETS.
NOWADAYS, LEGAL WORK TO RECOVER ASSETS UNDER BANKRUPTCY IS IN HIGH DEMAND. THE PROFESSIONALS OF THE LAW FIRM HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING THEIR PRACTICE IN THIS FIELD FOR THREE DECADES AND HAVE MASTERED UNIQUE METHODS FOR PROTECTING CREDITORS AND RECOVERING THEIR ASSETS.
FOUNDATION OF THE PRACTICE
THE EMPLOYEES OF THE LAW FIRM FIRST GAINED EXPERIENCE IN BANKRUPTCY BACK IN THE 1990S WHEN PARTICIPATING IN THE FOLLOWING BANK BANKRUPTCIES ON BEHALF OF THE CREDITORS: GLORIA BANK, KREDOBANK, AND INCOMBANK.
IN 2002, THEY GAINED KEY EXPERIENCE IN RECOVERING ASSETS IN THE COURSE OF LIQUIDATING SBS-AGRO, ONE OF THE LARGEST RUSSIAN BANKS AT THAT TIME. FOR TWO YEARS, THE LAWYERS SUPPORTED THE BANKRUPTCY MANAGER'S ACTIONS TO RECOVER ASSETS. AS A RESULT, MORE THAN 50 TRIALS WERE HELD (FOR RECOVERY OF OVERDUE DEBT, FOR LOAN AGREEMENTS IN SEVERAL CONSTITUENT ENTITIES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, INVOLVING BOTH COMMERCIAL ENTITIES AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES), INCLUDING IN THE SUPREME ARBITRATION COURT, WHICH CONSIDERABLY INFLUENCED AND CONTRIBUTED TO FURTHERING LAW-ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES.
IN 2007, THE LAW FIRM ACTIVELY RECOVERED ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, CHALLENGED PROBLEM TRANSACTIONS AND RECOVERED ASSETS OF THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL BANK OF ST. PETERSBURG, ST. PETERSBURG RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT BANK (SPRDB). TOTAL CLAIMED AMOUNT: RUB 1 BILLION.
IN 2002, THEY GAINED KEY EXPERIENCE IN RECOVERING ASSETS IN THE COURSE OF LIQUIDATING SBS-AGRO, ONE OF THE LARGEST RUSSIAN BANKS AT THAT TIME. FOR TWO YEARS, THE LAWYERS SUPPORTED THE BANKRUPTCY MANAGER'S ACTIONS TO RECOVER ASSETS. AS A RESULT, MORE THAN 50 TRIALS WERE HELD (FOR RECOVERY OF OVERDUE DEBT, FOR LOAN AGREEMENTS IN SEVERAL CONSTITUENT ENTITIES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, INVOLVING BOTH COMMERCIAL ENTITIES AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES), INCLUDING IN THE SUPREME ARBITRATION COURT, WHICH CONSIDERABLY INFLUENCED AND CONTRIBUTED TO FURTHERING LAW-ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES.
IN 2007, THE LAW FIRM ACTIVELY RECOVERED ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, CHALLENGED PROBLEM TRANSACTIONS AND RECOVERED ASSETS OF THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL BANK OF ST. PETERSBURG, ST. PETERSBURG RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT BANK (SPRDB). TOTAL CLAIMED AMOUNT: RUB 1 BILLION.
RANKINGS
PRAVO.RU-300 2022- Group I: Arbitration proceedings (high market, 2022, 2020, 2019);
- Group I: Dispute resolution in courts of general jurisdiction (2019);
- Group II: Arbitration proceedings (2018, 2017).
Russian Arbitration Association 2023Group 1 (Leading):- Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Insolvency
KOMMERSANT 2023Band 1- Russian arbitration: corporate dispute resolution: high-end;
- Russian arbitration: commercial dispute resolution: high-end.
- Financial and banking sector: resolution of key disputes in banking, investment and insurance services;
THE LEGAL 500 EMEA 2021- TIER 4 «RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY»
- TIER 6 «DISPUTE RESOLUTION: LITIGATION»
IFLR1000 2021- RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY
- #1 Tier of the Federal bankruptcy rating (major practices)Federal Bankruptcy Rating. Pravo.ru, september, 20221
- #2 by average amount of one resolution (major practices)Federal Bankruptcy Rating. Pravo.ru, september, 20212
- #3 - Leaders in participation in cases concerning exclusion and inclusion in the register of creditorsFederal Bankruptcy Rating. Pravo.ru, september, 20213
SELECTED EXPERIENCE
- Legal support of the personal bankruptcy proceedings of a former shareholder and chairman of the Management Board of a large Bank. A potential amount of claims sought by creditors, including possible demands of the Bank for the recovery of damages and an asserted claim is more than RUB 285 billion.
- Representation of Bankruptcy Creditor (Client) in bankruptcy cases. The cost of the project consists of the total volume of debtor creditors register— $0,9 bln – RUB 59.7 billion, the Client's interest is to account its claims and do not account claims of other Creditors, as well as to secure the Client's interests during bankruptcy proceedings. RESULT: The total amount of the Client's claims accounted in the register is RUB 9.7 billion. The possibility of obtaining investment rights or rights to property. Compensated enforcement of the right of claim to the debtor in favor of the majority creditor.
- Representation of a Bankruptcy Creditor in bankruptcy cases. The total claimed amount is more than $0,4 bln – RUB 25.7 billion. The objective of the project was to distribute the debtor's assets in a fairly manner and to satisfy the creditor's claim to the fullest extent possible.
- Protection of interests of the largest mining and metallurgical company and creditors linked with that company in the bankruptcy proceedings of two plants. The total amount of claims is more than RUB 15 billion. Result: the plant received the status of a city-forming enterprise, which allowed to change the procedure for selling the debtor's assets and postponing liquidation of the plant. 1,396 persons (32% of the employed population of the town) preserved their jobs.
- Representation of interests of a Private Person (1) in a case over the Debtor's bankruptcy under a separate dispute over the invalidation of the agreement of sale and purchase of a share in the authorised capital of the company, and (2) in a case over the Debtor's bankruptcy under a separate dispute over bringing the Private Person to subsidiary liability. The amount of subsidiary liability and the cost of a share in the authorized capital of the company: RUB 3.65 billion.
- Contesting a loan agreement with a Bank in the amount of RUB 3.9 billion.
- The partners of the law firm are experienced in representing the interests of a major Northern Irish bank as a bankruptcy manager in interrelated bankruptcies, and in the accompanying commercial and corporate disputes in the territory of the Russian federation. In the course of implementing protective measures, management control over the bankruptcy proceedings was restored, multiple transactions to strip the debtor of its assets to a total of over EUR 2 billion were challenged, and pledged assets of the bank were protected. The project was implemented in 12 jurisdictions: Ireland, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Belize, Panama, Sweden, Hong Kong, UAE, Liechtenstein and Russia. As part of the project, a decision of the high court of justice of northern Ireland was recognized and enforced by the supreme arbitration (commercial) court of the Russian federation; arbitration (jurisdiction) clauses were challenged; corporate control was restored; claims were included in the creditors' lists; opponents to whom the right of claim had been unlawfully assigned were excluded from the company registers; managers were dismissed; transactions were challenged and general support for the bankruptcy proceedings was provided.
- Protection of the interests of a bankruptcy creditor, a major Russian mining and metallurgical company, with regard to the specific matters of the bankruptcy of the oldest metallurgical plant in the Kemerovo region and the largest metallurgical plant in the Chelyabinsk region. The total claimed amount exceeds rub 15 billion. As a result, an effective strategy was developed to protect the bankruptcy creditor's interests with regard to the terms and conditions of the disposal of the bankrupt debtor's assets in the bankruptcy proceedings.
- Protection of interests of an owner of a leading trademark in the household appliance segment in a bankruptcy case of a Moscow-based developer with a total amount claimed by the creditors of rub 10 billion.
- Representation of a bankruptcy creditor in the debtor's bankruptcy case of a major Moscow-based a+ business center. Total amount claimed by the creditor in the bankruptcy case: rub 5.7 billion. The purpose of the project was to distribute the debtor's assets on a fair basis and to satisfy the claims raised by the represented creditor in full.
- Representation of interests of one of the largest nongovernmental pension funds of the Russian federation in the dispute for the recovery of the debt totaling rub 4 billion against one of the top 5 Russian mobile retailing companies and its former beneficiary owner. Protective actions were carried out in Russia and the Netherlands, including representation of the client's interests in a case regarding the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitration award to an amount exceeding usd 120 million in the territory of the Russian federation.
- Representation of interests of a leading company in China’s automotive industry in bankruptcy proceedings of a Russian dealer with a claimed amount exceeding rub 3 billion.
- Representation of client's interests in the debtor's bankruptcy as a creditor whose claims are secured by the debtor's assets.
- Representation of a major international insurer of export credits as a creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings of a well-known producer of dairy products.
- Representation of a bankruptcy creditor in a development company's bankruptcy proceedings. Total amount claimed by the creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings: rub 2.2 billion. As part of the project, the creditor's claims were included in the creditors' list of the debtor, and unlawful acts by opponents related to holding a meeting of creditors and introducing the bankruptcy procedure immediately after the monitoring process were challenged.
- Protection of interests of a bankruptcy creditor to the amount of rub 0.7 billion in bankruptcy proceedings of the largest livestock-breeding company of the Kaluga region with total assets of up to rub 2 billion. As a result of the work, the creditor's claim was included in the creditors' list. Work was carried out to challenge the debtor's transactions in order to recover and return the disposed assets to the bankruptcy estate.
- · representation of interests of a foreign creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings of the largest canning factory in the Krasnodar territory. As a result of an auction sale of the debtor's assets, the client's claims were satisfied to the total amount of rub 0.13 billion. As part of the project, all asset-stripping transactions were challenged, including at the level of the supreme court of the Russian federation. The assets were returned to the bankruptcy estate.
- Representation of an international group of biotechnological companies as a creditor in a bankruptcy case of one of the largest pharmaceutical distributors in Russia, and in the dispute with the surety and the beneficiary of the debtor.
- · representation of interests of a multinational company as a bankruptcy creditor in the debtor's bankruptcy case, and as a lessor in a dispute about the withdrawal of the leased property from the bankruptcy estate and seizure thereof. The bankruptcy related aspect of the project was aimed at protecting the creditor's interests, challenging the debtor's suspicious transactions when transferring the business and assets, and challenging the actions of a biased bankruptcy manager. The leasing related aspect of the project was aimed at withdrawing equipment that was the subject matter of the leasing and was owned by the client from the bankruptcy estate and holding an inventory of the debtor.
- Representation of interests of a multinational company in bankruptcy proceedings to protect the rights of the client as the debtor's counterparty in a dispute over challenging transactions. The purpose of the project was to protect from challenges and to preserve the validity of transactions without returning monetary assets to the bankruptcy estate. As a result, the bankruptcy manager's claim to challenge the transactions was dismissed.
- Representation of interests of a Belarusian oil company in the case of recovery of debts from a Russian oil product distributor. It was necessary to recover the debt and the client's losses. The aim of the project was to recover the debt, set off counterclaims (which were complicated by succession, enforcement proceedings and abuse on the part of the defendant, and also by the foreign factor), search for the debtor's assets, and develop a strategy for involving persons controlling the debtor.
Key Contacts
Key Contacts
- Mr. Sergey KovalevManaging Partner, PhD in Law, Attorney-at-law
Sergey is a recognized practitioner with vast experience in the areas of dispute resolution, bankruptcy and distressed assets recovery in Russia.s.kovalev@ktaplaw.ru
CV - Mr. Dmitry TugushiSenior Partner, Attorney-at-law
Dmitry has more than 20 years of experience in dispute resolution focusing on complex corporate disputes and construction disputes.d.tugushi@ktaplaw.ru
CV