THE LEGENDARY DISTILLERY WAS DECLARED BANKRUPT

On November 21, 2022, the Arbitration Court of the Vladimir Region issued a fateful decision in case No. A11-8992/2020. Vladalko OJSC, which managed the activities of the oldest distillery in the region, was declared insolvent. Prior to that, the creditors' meeting, held on November 7, 2022, took the initiative to declare the company bankrupt.

The company has existed in Vladimir since August 17, 1993, while the alcoholic beverages factory itself (originally the Wine State Warehouse No. 1) appeared more than 120 years ago. Already at the beginning of the XX century, more than 100 people worked at the enterprise.

The initiator of the recognition of Vladalko as bankrupt in 2020 was the Impulse company. The case was initiated in August. Local media reported on an attempt by business owner Yuri Higer to sell part of the assets (a 60% stake), including a controlling stake, real estate and a valid license for 350 million.

In the announcement posted on Avito, it was reported that the company has no debts, the staff is ready to continue working with a new investor, and the current license for the production of alcohol (until April 12, 2021) can be extended. However, the situation with the alienation of one of the oldest enterprises in the region was not simple. There were no people willing to buy land, buildings and other assets.

Heger and his partners became the main beneficiaries of Vladalko in 2014. And already in 2015, a significant part of the main building of the company went to the Federal Treasury Department, which arranged an archive in it. In June 2017, the company was taken over by the tax service, which organized an on-site inspection, accompanied by a significant number of security forces. In 2018, rumors began to spread around Vladimir that the plant might close, and the company began to work with downtime.

In 2019, the investigative authorities took up Vladalko. The company's management was suspected of trying to evade the payment of VAT and income tax. Investigators counted about 51 million rubles of tax arrears, including 40 million of unpaid VAT. Because of this, the company did not receive new excise stamps. As a result, the production lines were stopped. On September 21, 2020, the company was taken under surveillance.

According to the results of the monitoring procedure, the debt amounted to more than 276.5 million rubles. At the same time, a little more than 113.3 million were secured with collateral. The bankruptcy proceedings should last until May 15, 2023. There were no signs of premeditation in the bankruptcy of Vladalko by the court.

Photo: Freepik