SUPREME COURT: REPAYMENT OF A BANKRUPT'S OBLIGATIONS BY A THIRD PARTY SHOULD NOT VIOLATE THE RIGHTS OF CREDITORS

A complaint on the following dispute was submitted to the Judicial Board for Economic Disputes of the Supreme Court in the framework of the bankruptcy case (No. A40-81667/19). In the bankruptcy procedure of the liquidated debtor, a third party's application for repayment of the debtor's obligations was under consideration by the courts. At the same time, the register included the claims of 2 creditors, one of which (the bank's claim) was based on the pledge agreement of shares on the credit obligations of the JSC.

There were disagreements between the bank and the bankruptcy trustee regarding the initial sale price of the collateral, following the consideration of which the courts approved the sale regulation, in which the initial sale price was fixed. The specified price significantly exceeded the estimated value of the shares, based on which the courts determined the amount of the bank's claims when included in the register.

Satisfying the application of a third party for repayment of the debtor's obligations and terminating the proceedings in connection with the recognition of creditors' claims satisfied, the courts determined the amount to be deposited by a third party to the debtor's account in the amount of registered claims, that is, below the sale price of shares by bidding.

The Bank, appealing the ruling on the termination of proceedings in the case, pointed out the fact that the courts, recognizing his claim as repaid, actually created a situation in which the bank received a significantly smaller amount of money than that which could have been received by him as a result of the auction.

The Bank in its complaint to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation drew attention to the fact that the estimated value of the pledged property is taken into account at the stage of consideration of the validity of the claim of the secured creditor and is, in essence, accounting in nature. The volume of the actually repayable claims of the collateral creditor depends on the actual revenue received and is not limited by the estimated value. At the same time, the collateral creditor should not take measures to change the accounting estimated value of the collateral. The arbitration manager performs the corresponding actions independently.

The complaint is scheduled for consideration on December 19, 2022.

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