MOSCOW, December 13 - RAPSI, Natalia Belova. A court of appeals will hear on January 12 a National Reserve Bank's (NRB) appeal against the dismissal of its defamation lawsuit against the Kommersant publishers, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

The plaintiff sought 11 million rubles ($360,000) in damages.

The Moscow Commercial Court held against billionaire Alexander Lebedev and his NRB on October 5 in their lawsuit against Kommersant. Lebedev sought the court order to force the Kommersant newspaper refute information that the NRB was prosecuted for embezzling funds allocated to bailout the Rossiysky Capital bank.

The disputed article titled "NRB divided by inheritance" was published on February 17, 2011. NRB challenged the statement that a part of NRB's equity was transferred to Lebedev's son in the light of an ongoing investigation into the alleged embezzlement of funds allocated to bailout the Rossiysky Capital in 2008.

However, the court decided that the published story is true and provides no negative information regarding the claimants.

Lebedev's National Reserve Corporation owns 59.83 percent interest in NRB, the bank's web site reads.