MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) – Ural-Invest, a company linked to Ural Rakhimov, which had been ordered by a Moscow court to pay AFK Sistema 70.7 billion rubles (over $1 billion) filed an appeal against seizure of assets, RAPSI learnt in the Commercial court of Bashkortostan on Thursday.

A representative of Ural Invest said, without specifying, that the appeals concern the court bailiffs’ action to seize company property and to prohibit it from using its assets. He also said that the bailiffs had issued about a dozen injunctions but that the company had only filed appeals against four of them.

The appeals were filed on March 10.

On February 16, the Moscow Commercial Court ordered Ural Invest to pay 70.7 billion rubles (over $1 billion) to Sistema.

Rakhimov’s company sold about 71.6% of Bashneft shares to Sistema, Russia’s largest publicly-traded diversified holding company, in 2009. Later, the share portfolio was seized by the state in a case filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office. Sistema sued Ural Invest to recover the damages caused by the transaction.

Ural Invest has a month to file appeals against the Moscow court’s ruling. However, on February 16 the Moscow Commercial Court ruled to seize the company’s property and assets worth 70.7 billion rubles (over $1 billion) in total.

On March 5, the Moscow Commercial Court denied a motion from Ural Invest to release a portion of the assets. Ural Invest filed a motion that its Uralsib bank assets be released to partially pay its federal tax liability. Moreover, company representatives said they would use 3.5 million rubles ($57,700) each month to fulfil obligations to its business partners and employees.

On March 10, Ural Invest filed for bankruptcy with the Commercial Court of Bashkortostan. A date for this hearing has not yet been set.