THE SUPREME COURT OF RUSSIA: IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO BANKRUPT AFTER A CRIME COMMISSION?

The day before, the Supreme of the Russian Federation considered a case on the insolvency of an individual who committed a crime. The applicant applied to the court with a request to declare him bankrupt, and three instances rejected his claim on various grounds. The Judicial Chamber on Economic Disputes stated that it was a misinterpretation of the rules of law and canceled the rulings.

Initially, the question concerned an underground casino, the founder of which was convicted, and the prosecutor's office made a decision to recover the income from its activities from the culprit. The amount to be paid was almost 400 million rubles.

After that, the founder received a claim on his own insolvency with reference to the impossibility of repaying such a large amount.

The courts of the first and appeals instances rejected the claim, having indicated that the debt followed from criminal activity, and therefore could not be taken into account when determining the signs of bankruptcy.

The District Court expressed solidarity with colleagues in dismissing the case, but on other grounds. The cassation designated the applicant's right to initiate his own bankruptcy, regardless of the legal nature of his debt. However, the purpose of the institution of insolvency is the social rehabilitation of an individual, but bankruptcy does not provide for the possibility of unjustified evasion of responsibility and termination of debt obligations.

Considering the case at the level of the Supreme Court, the three judges probably came to a different conclusion. The published operative part of the ruling testifies to the cancellation of the subordinate acts and the referral of the case for reconsideration (ruling No. 301-ES20-19192 of May 13, 2021). It remains to wait for a motivated judicial act to understand the train of thought of the board.