MOSCOW, February 15 - RAPSI. A court will start reconsidering on April 6 a $5.3 million lawsuit filed by Inteco development company against the Moscow government to recover expenses for a project in the Moscow Region.
Inteco seeks to recover expenses which stemmed from the termination of an investment contract with the Moscow administration to build a residential area in the Moscow Region. The Moscow Economic Policy and Development Department is a co-defendant in the lawsuit.
Inteco claims back 95.7 million rubles ($3.18 million) of prepayment, which the developer transferred to the city budget in the result of the auction. He also seeks to recover expenses for the project design and research activities.
Two courts initially dismissed Inteco's claims, but the high court remanded the case for reconsideration to the Moscow Commercial Court. The court stated that some key facts important for the case were not established.
Inteco won the bid in September 2004 to develop two land plots.
Inteco planned to develop one million square meters of residential estate. However, it had to terminate a contract in 2009 due to Moscow's failure to relieve the land of third party rights as it was obligated to do under the contract.
The Moscow government's lawyer said earlier that the defendant does not dispute Inteco's expenses. However, it considers the contract null and void as Inteco embarked on project implementation prematurely without landlord's permission to start the project.
Inteco is a diversified company and Russia's development market leader. It is engaged in residential and other construction, cement production, architectural design, and real estate.
In autumn 2011 businessman Mikhail Shishkhanov and Sberbank Investments acquired Inteco from Yelena Baturina, the wife of former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov. On September 2 the parties signed the irrevocable offer for the acquisition of 100-percent stake in Inteco, Patriot and all their production and project facilities, the company's press-release reads. Shishkhanov purchased a 95-percent stake in Inteco, Sberbank Investments acquired 5 percent.
