for the debts of Vladislav Babii

Last Wednesday, the Khabarovsk Regional Arbitration Court completed hearings in the case of Alfa Bank OJSC and Familia LLC. The bank demanded to recover 11.5 million rubles from the company. in solidarity with Kontrfors-DVTorg LLC, which failed to fulfill its loan obligations, and its other guarantors. Familia filed a counterclaim to invalidate the guarantee agreement, a copy of which was presented to the court by Alfa Bank. The court decided to satisfy the demands of “Family”. Bank Kommersant stated that they intend to appeal this decision.

Svetlana Svinchukova managed to convince the court that “Family” was not the guarantor for the loan “Kontrfors-DVTorg”
PHOTO BY VYACHESLAV REUTOV

As Kommersant wrote, in February the Khabarovsk Arbitration Court began hearings on Alfa Bank’s claims against several Khabarovsk companies to repay loans issued in 2004 to Kontrfors-DVTorg LLC (KDVT). One of the founders of the company is businessman Vladislav Babiy, who was kidnapped in October 2004. According to law enforcement agencies, Mr. Babiy had large debts, and he disappeared (or was kidnapped) after Yuri Maslennikov (Crab), who fled from Khabarovsk with a large sum of money related to the local organized crime group Obshchak. Investigative authorities have information that Krab lent Vladislav Babii about $1 million. According to the businessman’s common-law wife, Galina Mazhaeva, after the kidnapping, unknown people demanded a ransom from her for her husband in the amount of $1 million.
After the disappearance of Vladislav Babii, Kontrfors-DVTorg failed to fulfill its loan obligations, and Alfa Bank appealed to the arbitration court. For one of the loans issued in 2004, the amount of which amounted to 11.5 million rubles, the bank filed claims against KDVT, as well as Counterforce - Far East LLC (KDV), entrepreneur Sergei Drobyshev and Familia LLC. According to Alfa Bank lawyer Elena Nilova, these companies are guarantors of KDVT. However, Familia filed a counterclaim to invalidate the minutes of the company meeting dated December 20, 2003 regarding the conclusion of the guarantee agreement as a major transaction. The company claims that this document does not exist. The founders of Familia, Galina Mazhaeva and Alexandra Zhulina, stated in court that they did not sign the protocol, a copy of which the bank provided as evidence. The company's general director, Vitaly Butin, also stated that he did not sign the guarantee agreement itself. The court ordered a handwriting examination of the signatures of company representatives.
Last Wednesday, the court continued to consider the parties' claims. The hearings were held without the participation of Alfa Bank, whose representatives did not appear at the meeting. As reported in court, experts were only able to examine the signatures of Alexandra Zhulina. According to an expert from the Far Eastern Regional Forensic Science Center, the signature samples of others were too short and simple, and the photocopy of the document was not of sufficient quality to be examined. Ms. Zhulina’s autograph in the copy of the minutes of the meeting of the founders of “Family” on the issue of guarantee was found to be inconsistent with her actual signature. The company’s representative in court, Svetlana Svinchukova, stated in court that the deal with Alfa Bank, according to the law on limited liability companies, should be declared void, since “it has been proven that the owner of 50% of the authorized capital of “Family” Zhulina did not consent to the conclusion of the agreement guarantees."
On the same day, Judge Alexander Kiselev made a decision on the case. In a resolute decision, he announced that the claim of “Family” to invalidate the guarantee agreement was satisfied. At the request of Alfa Bank for reimbursement of funds under the loan to Kontrfors-DVTorg, the court decided to recover the funds jointly with KDVT, KDV and entrepreneur Sergei Drobyshev. They must pay more than 11.8 million rubles, including the loan amount, interest, penalties and state fees. In turn, the court ordered Alfa Bank to compensate Familia for the costs of conducting a handwriting examination - more than 12 thousand rubles. and pay the state fee for legal costs.
As Elena Nilova told Kommersant, Alfa Bank will appeal to the appellate authority. In addition, the bank filed a lawsuit with the court demanding that the examination of signatures be declared invalid. As Kommersant knows, Alfa Bank’s main claim is an examination of a copy of a document. Let us recall that the bank refused to provide the court with the original minutes of the “Family” meeting, considering that the evidence presented was “sufficient to consider the case on the merits.”
Svetlana Svinchukova told Kommersant yesterday that Alfa Bank’s lawsuit against Familia was, in her opinion, dictated by the desire for “revenge against Galina Mozhaeva, the common-law wife of Vladislav Babii.” “I think the disappearance of Babii, who was involved in obtaining a loan from Alfa Bank, and the disappearance of the pledged property of Kontrfors-DVTorg, as well as documents on the loan, are interconnected. The circumstances under which this loan was received are ambiguous and vague,” the lawyer noted.
MARINA KRAVCHENKO

Kommersant (Khabarovsk) No. 57 from 04/01/2005

"Family" fought off Alfa Bank