The Supreme Court of Russia distributed the burden of proof when challenging the transactions of debtor

The Supreme Court of Russia considered the case at the request of a bankruptcy trustee, who challenged a number of transactions of the debtor on the alienation of his property.  The opinions of the lower instances turned out to be different: the court of first instance satisfied the claim, then the court of appeal and the district court rejected it, citing that the trustee did not provide sufficient evidence of the disparity of the transaction.

However, the economic board of the Supreme Court expressed different opinion on the situation.

Considering the complaint, the board came to the conclusion that the defendant should have proved the validity of the lower price of the contracts signed. The acquired properties were soon leased out, and the contracts for the lease of which contained a much higher value than the selling value of the real estate. In addition, the income from the lease of property, received in the short period after its sale to the new owner, exceeded the price for which the property was purchased. This fact could have lead the court to a conclusion about the underestimated value of the property sold as well.

Thus, taking into account the circumstances of the case, it was the defendant who should have refuted the manager's arguments about the understated value of the property and substantiated the price indicated in the contract with documents (decision in case No. 306-ES19-5887 (3) of September 27, 2021).