CASSATION OBLIGED THE BANKRUPT'S SPOUSE TO IMPORT A CAR FROM ABROAD

On September 27, 2023, the Cassation (Arbitration Court of the Central District) published a Resolution adopted on the complaint of financial manager Dmitry Tikhomirov, dealing with the bankruptcy of the owner of the bankrupt jewelry holding "Jasper" Igor Mavlyanov. According to the document, the businessman's wife Elena Shmargunenko is obliged to transfer her husband's car to FU to include it in the bankruptcy estate. The intrigue lies in the fact that the car is currently located on the territory of Israel, as well as the bankrupt himself.

Lawyers note that such an arbitration decision is an important precedent for Russian judicial practice. In fact, the court allowed the possibility to demand the import of property from the territory of another state at the request of the arbitration manager. The situation was influenced by geopolitics and the inability recognized by the court to ensure proper protection of creditors' rights in a country that does not have a mutual assistance agreement with the Russian Federation in the implementation of civil justice.

The person involved in the process, Igor Mavlyanov, left Russia back in 2016. Subsequently, the court declared him bankrupt. After receiving Israeli citizenship, he changed his name (now his name is Itskah Mavlon). By the time he left abroad, his debt to credit institutions exceeded 23 billion rubles. Sberbank, as one of the businessman's creditors, even managed to foreclose on Mavlyanov's assets in the United States, achieving recognition of judicial acts in the amount of 2.2 billion.

On October 14, 2022, the bankrupt demanded that his wife transfer the BMW 530e Luxury Line car to the bankruptcy estate. She bought it for her husband, exporting it to Israel. Shmargunenko refused to comply with the requirement, referring to the fact that she bought a car at the expense of an elderly mother and insisting that the car belongs to her. Tikhomirov demanded to establish a daily astrent (court penalty) of 100 thousand rubles if Mavlyanov's wife does not fulfill the requirement.

In March 2023, the Voronezh Arbitration Court, and then the appeal (the 19th Arbitration Court of Appeal) supported the Financial Manager's petition. The courts assessed the geopolitical context and the actual impossibility of selling cars in Israel. Given that the car is movable property and can be delivered to the capital of the Russian Federation, the courts have established a 45–day period for its movement. At the same time, the daily astrent in case of violation of this verdict was determined at 1 thousand.

The acts of the courts did not suit either Shmargunenko or Tikhomirov. The woman insisted that in order to recover the car, it is required to comply with the procedural norms of Israeli law. The financial manager noted that the amount of the astrent does not motivate the bankrupt's spouse to comply with the court's decision. Rental of transport in Israel is not less than three times the amount of the penalty. At the same time, Shmargunenko's official income is more than 110 thousand per day.

As a result, the cassation agreed with Tikhomirov's arguments. The district arbitration ordered BMW to be imported and handed over to a Financial manager in Moscow. At the same time, the astrent was increased to 100 thousand per day. The court drew attention to the fact that even in this case, the woman's income will exceed 10 thousand per day, which is much more than the subsistence minimum of any resident of Russia.