MOSCOW, November 30 - RAPSI. The High Court of Justice has dismissed the $225 million lawsuit filed by VTB Capital plc against Marshall Capital Partners (MCP) Managing Partner Konstantin Malofeyev, MCP-managed funds and the Nutritek International Corporation, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) reports based on the court records.
VTB Capital plc is a subsidiary of Russia's second largest bank.
The decision is based on the lack of jurisdiction in the case.
The statement of claims reads that in 2007 the bank provided a $225 million loan to Rusagroprom to purchase six diary enterprises and three related companies from Nutritek.
Neither the loan nor the interest were ever repaid. As a result of the litigation in Russia, the bank recovered as little as $40 million from enforcing the security.
The plaintiff maintains that the defendants knowingly mislead it by overestimating the cost of the companies to be purchased and concealing Rusagroprom's affiliation with Nutritek. The bank alleges that Malofeyev was the beneficial owner of both. The court froze his assets worth almost $200 million in August. Malofeyev denies any affiliation with Rusagroprom.
MCP is the largest minority shareholder (with a seven-percent share) in the Rostelecom national telecommunications operator. MCP manages assets worth $1.5 billion.
Malofeyev is believed to be MCP's and the Rostelecom shareholding's primary beneficiary.