THE DISTRICT COURT CLARIFIED THE NECESSITY OF INQUIRIES TO FOREIGN BANKS

The bankruptcy trustee asked the court to send instructions to a number of states to provide information about the debtor's bank accounts and the funds on them in the framework of the bankruptcy case.  The applicant referred to the fact that he is unable to obtain information on his own, since foreign banks are not legally obliged to provide it.

At the same time, the courts of the first and appellate instances rejected the claims, but not the district court.

The applicant stated that in the course of his work on the case, he established the facts that the debtor had accounts in foreign banks. However, by virtue of the law, he was not able to obtain information about the availability of funds on them.

Having rejected the claims, the court of first instance, the position of which was supported by the appeal, indicated that the manager had not proven the impossibility of demanding the information he needed from the debtor himself, including through enforcement proceedings.

Disputing the position of the courts, the trustee indicated that, among other things, he sent requests for the provision of the information he needed to the Ministry of Justice, which also rejected his application, citing the impossibility of initiating requests in relation to individuals and legal entities.

The district court reminded the colleagues about l the enshrined right of the trustee to receive information about the property and accounts of the debtor, including from the state and local authorities.

What is more, the manager has the right to ask the court to demand the information he needs. The courts, in turn, are authorized to apply to the courts and government agencies of other states with instructions on various kinds of issues.

The result of the consideration of the complaint was the cancellation of the decisions made and the referral of the case for reconsideration (decision in case No. А40-244943 / 2015 of May 17, 2021).