MOSCOW, December 2 - RAPSI, Natalia Belova. A commercial court upheld the decision awarding UniCredit Bank $20 million in lawsuit against 10 subsidiaries of major alcohol manufacturer, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency/rapsinews.com on Friday.

Istok is a major Russian alcohol producer and the leader in the Russian sparkling wines market.

Earlier, UniCredit told RAPSI that all the defendants acted as co-guarantors under the bank's loan granted to Istok on April 2, 2008. The parent company has participated in the proceedings as a third party.

The Commercial Court of the Republic of North Ossetia put Istok into administration on October 28, 2010. The proceedings are currently suspended until the litigation over the validity of Istok's creditors meeting is completed.

Earlier, press-service of South Ossetia's head reported that the republic's government will do its best to save the plant, in which bankruptcy administration was initiated.

Unicredit Bank is one of Russia's leading banks. It was established under the name of International Moscow Bank in 1989 and was the first Russian bank to operate on the international financial markets. It has more than 106 branches in Russia.