THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY CALLED THE PROBLEM OF THE MORATORIUM ON BANKRUPTCY VERY SERIOUS

Vladimir Gamza, Chairman of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation on Financial, Industrial and Investment Policy, said that the moratorium on bankruptcy, introduced on April 1, should be introduced only if the state is able to ensure the preservation of assets of a company that would like to get under the procedure during this period. He told about this at the III annual conference "Practice of bankruptcy and anti-crisis protection of business: modern trends", which is taking place today, September 23, in Moscow.

"In Russia, the main funds that are involved in small and medium-sized businesses as investments are the funds of partners, acquaintances, friends, relatives and so on. There is a very large share of business in this part. And any violation of obligations on these investments hits the business. Therefore, the problem of the moratorium is very serious. It allows all unscrupulous borrowers to get rid of their obligations. There may be a moratorium, but on condition that the state is able to ensure the preservation of the assets that the company has, which would like to fall under the moratorium on bankruptcy," Gamza stressed.

His opinion was supported by Vladimir Kuznetsov, Vice-President of the Association of Lawyers for Registration, Liquidation, Bankruptcy and Judicial Representation. He stressed that the moratorium on bankruptcy was used by unscrupulous debtors.

"The moratorium has done more harm than good. The extension of the moratorium is unlikely, since it is necessary not to harm bona fide economic entities," Kuznetsov said.

The conference participants generally supported the idea that the moratorium on bankruptcy should be completed, since the main goal – the support of companies – has been achieved. However, the executive director of the National Association "Bankrupt Club" Daniil Savchenko expressed the opinion that the moratorium on the procedure will be extended. In turn, Alexey Yukhnin, Project Development Director of the Interfax Group, noted that he also does not exclude the extension of the moratorium, but not a full one, but a "sectoral one".

As part of the annual conference "The practice of bankruptcy and anti-crisis protection of business: current trends" today, experts discuss the financial condition of companies in the face of anti-Russian sanctions, import and export restrictions, violations of logistics and cooperation chains and the departure of a number of foreign companies from Russia. Also on the agenda of the discussions is the creditworthiness of citizens and businesses during the moratorium on bankruptcy, effective from April 1. According to the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies (NAPCA), the payment discipline of all categories of debtors decreased to 30%, and bailiffs began to recover only 32% of the money within the framework of enforcement proceedings.