CHELYABINSK, December 4. /TASS/. The Eighteenth Arbitration Court of Appeal of Chelyabinsk denied Sistema’s petition for the appointment of a financial examination for reorganization of Bashneft, TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.
The court is currently reviewing appeals filed by both Sistema and Rosneft against the decision of the Arbitration Court of Bashkortostan, which decided to recover 136.3 bln rubles ($2.3 bln) from Sistema in favor of Bashneft.
Representative of Sistema justified the petition for financial and economic examination by the fact that "the expert can determine whether there were losses from the reorganization." Rosneft objected the examination.
Rosneft and Sistema are currently in dispute over the reorganization of Bashneft. Earlier, the Arbitration Court of Bashkortostan recognized reorganization of Bashneft, which in 2014 was carried out by its former owners Sistema and Sistema-Invest, not as actions caused by economic expediency but as a method of illegitimate withdrawal of assets from the company.
The Court satisfied claims of Rosneft to Sistema in part, deciding to recover 136.273 bln rubles ($2.82 bln) from Sistema. The court also decided to recover a state fee of 159,740 rubles ($2,756) from Sistema and Sistema Invest in favor of Rosneft.
Rosneft has conducted an internal audit of Bashneft and concluded that the company suffered losses of 106.6 bln rubles ($1.84 bln) when Sistema owned the company’s shares - Bashneft lost 49.4% of Sistema-Invest shares during the reorganization, and, consequently, indirect ownership of the shares of Bashkirenergo and Ufaorgsintez. Rosneft estimates losses from these actions at 57.2 bln rubles ($987.1 mln). The remaining amount of losses: Sistema-Invest has written off a loan of 36.9 bln rubles ($636.78 mln) provided to Bashneft, another 12.4 bln rubles ($213.98 mln) - repurchase and redemption of Bashneft shares purchased from minority shareholders.
The initial amount of the claim was increased by 64 bln rubles ($1.1 bln) due to the difference between the US dollar exchange rate in 2014, when the reorganization of Bashneft was carried out, and at the time of filing the claim in 2017.
Earlier, President Putin said he had met with the owner of Sistema Vladimir Yevtushenkov and Head of Rosneft Igor Sechin about the dispute between the companies and expected the parties to reach a settlement agreement. The president noted that the agreement, in his opinion, would benefit both Rosneft and Sistema, and the Russian economy. At the same time, Putin added he did not give direct instructions on the issue and was not planning on it.