MOSCOW, August 8 (RAPSI) – Lawyers for Tinkoff Credit Systems Bank (TCS) are looking into initiating a criminal case against on of their clients on suspicion of fraud, the bank’s press-service told the PRIME business news agency.
In 2008 the bank offered a credit card deal to a Voroneszh resident Dmitry Agarkov. He had to fill out a form and mail it to the bank. Agarkov allegedly scanned the documents and then altered them, changing the interest rate to zero, and added stipulations resulting in fines for the bank should it alter the agreement without the client’s consent. For each alteration the bank was allegedly expected to pay Agarkov a compensation of 3 million rubles ($91,000). Likewise, for terminating the contract the bank should have compensated 6 million rubles ($182,000)
The TCS employees overlooked the fine print and signed the contract. Agarkov posted his copy of the agreement on his website. In 2010 TCS terminated the contract because of delayed payments, and in 2012 filed a lawsuit against Agarkov, seeking penalties for faulty payments of interest rates – around $1,300. The court, however, ruled that the 2008 altered version of the contract was valid and that Agarkov was in his right to offer his own conditions.
Agarkov filed a $27,000 (900,000 rubles) lawsuit against the bank for terminating the contract and breaking a number of conditions he included, the total number of damages filed in the claim stacks up to $727,000. The next hearing is scheduled for September.
TCS claims that Agarkov’s claim is fraudulent, and vows to seek the means to initiate a criminal case against him.