THE OWNER OF THE STAVROPOL AGRICULTURAL COMPANY WAS INVOLVED IN A SUBSIDY FOR 1.4 BILLION

THE OWNER OF THE STAVROPOL AGRICULTURAL COMPANY WAS INVOLVED IN A SUBSIDY FOR 1.4 BILLION

THE OWNER OF THE STAVROPOL AGRICULTURAL COMPANY WAS INVOLVED IN A SUBSIDY FOR 1.4 BILLION
Nikolay Kukhar, the sole owner of the Petropavlovsk agro-industrial company, was involved in a subsidy in the amount of 1.4 billion rubles. Attempts to appeal the court's decision on appeal, and then in cassation, did not lead to a revision of the judicial act of the first instance. The District Court (Arbitration Court of the North Caucasus District) upheld the verdicts of the lower instances.

The bankruptcy of the agro-industrial company was initiated in 2018 at the request of the Russian Agricultural Bank. Approved for the role of bankruptcy trustee, he appealed to the owner of the company with a request to provide financial statements and documentation of the legal entity. However, the Cook did not transfer to the bankruptcy trustee either the 1C database containing information about the accounting department of the enterprise, or contracts with contractors of the agro-industrial company.

The bankruptcy trustee appealed to the court with a petition on the need to hold the owner of the agro-industrial company accountable. The statement stated that by the time of bankruptcy (according to the only available statements for 2018), the company had accounts receivable in the amount of about 500 million (more than 70% of all assets of the debtor). The bankruptcy trustee could not collect these debts without having the necessary documents in his hands.

The court found that the bankruptcy trustee could not give a clear assessment of the financial condition of the agro-industrial company, because he had not received the documents. He also could not understand why the company's reserves decreased from 382 million to 140 million rubles. As a result, the company needed to increase financial investments from 77 million to 467 million. Creditors included in the register were unable to receive satisfaction in the amount of more than 1.4 billion rubles.

The cook explained in court his inaction by the lack of necessary documents in connection with their theft. It was also stated that the kidnappers extorted money from him, which served as the basis for initiating criminal proceedings. But the court was not satisfied with such explanations, and it satisfied the requirements of the bankruptcy trustee, slightly reducing their amount.

Experts believe that the acts of the courts in this case are quite predictable. Cases when unscrupulous businessmen in such situations refer to natural disasters (fires, floods) or criminal actions are not uncommon. In such cases, arbitration, as a rule, tries to take into account the behavioral characteristics of decision makers.

The cook may try to file a complaint with the Supreme Court or wait for the detection of signs of a crime by law enforcement agencies. In this case, a petition may be submitted to the court with a request to review the acts of the courts on newly discovered circumstances. Experts estimate the possibility that the ex-beneficiary of the agro-industrial company will be able to recover 1.4 billion rubles as unlikely.

11.06.2024